The Similkameen News Leader
Editorial
February 09, 2010
CALL IT A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE
The Olympic Torch passed through Princeton over the weekend.
I knew it was coming probably as long as you have, but never really thought much about it until two weeks ago.
I consider myself sort of Śneutral' about the whole Olympic movement.
Part of me thinks, "Yea! Go Team Canada. Whip some butts" and another part of me thinks, "Oh, what an expensive mistake" but you know, if the world is coming to the neighbourhood we still have to be reasonably hospitable.
What tipped me off to the effect of the promotional stunt of Olympic proportions was two weeks ago when Brenda was in Penticton picking up that week's News Leader from the printer and happened upon the Olympic Torch quite by accident on one of the main streets. She took some photos and called me right away.
To say she sounded delirious would be putting it mildly. She, too, has had what I would call a Śneutral' position on the Olympics, but, seeing the torch sort of swept her up into the spirit of the thing.
When you think about it, the Torch Relay is really not much more than a huge moving promotional tool used by the Olympic Committee to reach you. Whether or not you care about the games and whether or not you plan on attending the games or watching them on TV the torch and it's twisting route is supposed to at least make you think about the event.
Once Brenda managed to calm down she told me she didn't expect to get so swept up in the spirit of the relay, but she did. She watched it approach her, witnessed a Śhand off' to another runner take place almost in front of her and watched that runner disappear in traffic.
Since that happened I kept reminding myself the Torch Relay's arrival in Princeton to me is not much more than a news item. Every day or so I'd ask Brenda if she planned to be up early and downtown to see it arrive here. Each morning she sounded a bit more excited about it. It reminded me of the countdown to Christmas I experienced as a young boy.
So to say I wasn't a little excited nor a little bit proud to be a Canadian when the Olympic Torch passed me on Bridge Street last weekend would be a lie. I can't say I had the same experience Brenda had, but you could tell that many residents lining Bridge Street and standing in Veterans Square on Sunday morning were getting caught up in the spirit of the event.
Someone last week mentioned to me they were going because it was, in their view, an once-in-a-lifetime event.
Had there not been the Olympics in Calgary in 1988 I'd say that could have been a true statement, but there's no doubt it'll be a long time before British Columbia will be hosting the event again and with that in mind I was glad to be there to witness something that was truly a lot more than just a news item.
