“To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” ~ Tennyson

Hooray for the Olympics!   I hope you all plan to watch the opening ceremonies tonight.  

Here are a few thoughts I have been having about the Olympics today.

First...To dip or not to dip?   That is the question.   Honestly, even Olympic historians cannot agree on why in 1908 the flag bearer for the United States Olympic team refused to dip the flag as he passed by the King of England.   Most say it was because he was of Irish descent and he was trying to make a political gesture.   For whatever reason, it CAN be agreed upon that in subsequent games the flag was dipped.  But not always.  Obviously not in 1936...because of Hitler and all...but sometimes...in other years...who knows?  Anyway, it is not necessarily an American tradition as some have been erroneously saying.   My two cents....the Olympic games are not the right venue to get your political message across.   Also, it is just good manners to acknowledge and honor your host.    So I for one would not be offended to see some flag dipping tonight.  Also, I am now craving some chips and dip.  

Second...did you know that in years past there were literature competitions as part of the Olympics.   With Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals being awarded in things like poetry, art, architecture...right along with wrestling, rowing, and soccer?   I didn't know that, and I consider myself to be somewhat of an Olympics expert.  :)

Here is the Gold Winning poem from the 1948 London Games, by Finnish poet Aale Maria Tynni’s.

 “Laurel of Hellas” 

Laurel of Hellas noble-born,

most celebrated tree,

gazing to your lofty crown

the mind must dazzled be.

Third...I am not a big Michael Phelps fan.  Sorry.  Ryan Lochte...now that is another story.

Fourth...I will cheer for another country in some cases.   I am not so USA patriotic that there isn't room in my heart for a few other people.  Case in point...Roger Federer.   I hope he wins a gold.   Love him.

Fifth...I wasn't sure I liked the official London 2012 song by Muse (and I LOVE Muse) until I saw it set to this video, now its growing on me.

Finally...I am sad I will miss all of the games since I will be in the Netherlands starting tomorrow for 14 days and then in Denmark and Sweden for 4 more days.   I hope you will all double your efforts to watch every little sport (and yes that means trampolining too) to make up for my absence.