Blase Friday

Friday.
Fourth day of a four day work week.
Feels good.
------------------------------------------------
Last night, I watched teenagers on ice (according to my friend D) aka Women's Olympic Figure Skating. You really are watching teenagers for the most part.

They were fun to watch. I'm impressed by people who can glide on ice. It's something I've never been able to do. The ability to rollerskate or ice skate has always been just out of my grasp. I can almost do either as long as I'm holding on to the wall of the rink.

I always want the Russians to win in Olympic ice skating events. Why? Because whenever the producers of the Olympics run those short bios on the skaters, the Russians always have the saddest and most compelling stories. Last night was no exception. The 27-year old gold medalist hopeful whose name and photo I will post later had a story that had me on the verge of tears. The short film they showed, included photos of the skater with her mother while her voice was played over the images telling the story of how her mother is dying and in need of a new kidney. A previous kidney transplant had failed. Then the film cuts to a silhouette of the Russian skater in her dark apartment, sitting by a window bathed in hopeful morning sunlight. We learn that she suffers from Vasculitis - which means her blood vessels swell, a very painful condition - and that she continued skating against the advice of her doctors.

Now, I'm not going to say that she deserves to win more than anyone else. The Japanses skater that won was beautiful and skated a perfect program - she deserved to win. I'm just saying that these stories always make me wish the Russian skaters finish first.