Olympics | dual personalities

July 9, 2024

“Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel.”*

by chuckofish

The Olympics are coming up and I really don’t care anymore since it is just a bunch of pumped up professionals competing.

However, July 11th marks the 100th anniversary of Eric Liddell winning gold in the 400 meter dash during the Paris Olympics. Here is a short interview with Eric’s daughter, Patricia Liddell Russell, and John MacMillan, Chief Executive of the Eric Liddell Community. I guess it’s time to watch Chariots of Fire (1981) again!

I am also re-reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. Louis Zamperini, the subject of the book, ran in the 1936 Olympics on the U.S. track team.

Zamperini is quite an interesting guy and the book is well-worth reading. Angelina Jolie made a pretty good movie about him in 2014, but she left out the “Redemption” part altogether, which is a shame.

Lt. Zamperini was a bombardier on B-24 Liberators in the Pacific. On a search and rescue mission, his plane experienced mechanical difficulties and crashed into the ocean. After drifting at sea on a life raft for 47 days, with two other crew mates, he landed on the then Japanese Marshall Islands and was captured. He was taken to a total of four different POW caps in Japan, where he was tortured and beaten by Japanese military personnel. Following the war, beset with terrible nightmares and afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder, he struggled with alcoholism. Then he happened to go to a Billy Graham revival and he turned his life over to Jesus. For the rest of his long life he was a devout Presbyterian who worked with youth and as a Christian evangelist. It is quite a story.

So watch an old movie, re-read a good book, run in such a way as you may obtain [the prize].

*I Kings 18:46

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August 3, 2021

“and in the rhythm of the swim/ I hummed a two-four-time slow hymn”*

by chuckofish

So have you been watching the Tokyo Olympics? Me neither. I have just lost all interest since everyone went professional. But I did enjoy being reminded of Billy Mills, the only American to win the Gold Medal for the Men’s 10,000 meters long-distance running event at the Summer Olympic Games. A Native American from the University of Kansas who was a three-time NCAA All-America cross-country runner but not expected to distinguish himself at the Olympics, he surprised everyone when he won Gold in 1964 in Tokyo. It is exciting to watch him come from behind and blast over the finish line.

That is what the Olympics are all about to me. Amateurs who push themselves to do more than they think they can do and are proud to represent their country.

I had forgotten that they made a movie about Billy Mills called Running Brave (1984) which starred Robbie Benson. I have never seen it, but I may have to check it out if I can find it.

Jim Thorpe–All-American (1951), starring Burt Lancaster and directed by Michael Curtiz, tells the story of another great Native American athlete who won medals at the 1912 Olympics and distinguished himself in various sports, both in college and on professional teams. But the injustice of taking his medals away upset me a lot as a child when I first saw this movie and it still rankles, especially considering how everyone gets paid for everything now. (His Olympic honors were reinstated in 1983, thirty-two years after this film was released and thirty years after Thorpe’s death.)

Well, a toast to Billy Mills and to Jim Thorpe. And while we’re at it, I’m going to toast Buffalo Bill Cody, who was no Olympian, but could have been. When a scout for the U.S. Army, he performed an exceptional feat of riding as a lone dispatch courier from Fort Larned to Fort Zarah (escaping brief capture), Fort Zarah to Fort Hays, Fort Hays to Fort Dodge, Fort Dodge to Fort Larned, and, finally, Fort Larned to Fort Hays, a total of 350 miles in 58 hours through hostile territory, covering the last 35 miles on foot. Cody was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1872 for documented gallantry above and beyond the call of duty as an Army scout in the Indian Wars. It was revoked in 1917, along with medals of 910 other recipients dating back to the Revolutionary War, when Congress decided to create a hierarchy of medals. Good grief. His medal was reinstated in 1988.

Frankly, you can have your medals. This is how my mind works.

*Maxine Kumin, “Morning Swim”

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February 16, 2018

“For I acknowledge my faults; and my sin is ever before me.”*

by chuckofish

So how is your Lent going so far?

Screen Shot 2018-02-15 at 4.53.26 PM.png Here’s a little book –“A Few Words About Lent”–that may interest you. It was written in 1861 by Charles Todd Quintard, whose feast day is today on the Episcopal Church calendar. Charles was an American physician and clergyman who became the second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee and the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of the South.

Mighty God, we bless thy Name for the example of thy bishop Charles Todd Quintard, who persevered to reconcile the divisions among the people of his time: Grant, we pray, that thy Church may ever be one, that it may be a refuge for all, for the honor of thy Name; through Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Anyway, it is finally Friday. The OM and I are planning to road-trip to Columbia this weekend. On Saturday we will tour our state capitol with daughter #1. We are living in the fast lane, right?

I am pretty excited to see the old river town. I have not been there since I accompanied daughter #2 and her fourth grade class on a field trip to Jefferson City back in the day.

Screen Shot 2018-02-15 at 1.33.26 PM.png Jefferson City is on the northern edge of the Ozark Plateau on the southern side of the Missouri River in a region known as Mid-Missouri. The Jeff City website proudly announces that Jefferson City was chosen by Rand McNally as “America’s Most Beautiful Small Town!” However, it does not say when that was. [I searched around the internet and it was 2013!]

When we get back on Sunday, we’ll hopefully get to see the wee babes. Last weekend little Lottie was sick with an ear infection, so only the wee lad and his dad came over.

Here they are reading quietly together. Such book worms!

Here they are in their Olympics-watching outfits–remember the 1980 Miracle on Ice? Eruzione’s goal against the Soviet Union to clinch the “Miracle on Ice” victory is one of the most iconic sports moments of all time.

But did you know that ESPN officially recognized it as the No. 1 greatest sports highlight of all time and Sports Illustrated has named it the No. 1 sports moment of the 20th century? I did not know that. I remember watching the game in the living room of the St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, VA, when I was on hall monitor duty that night. It was, indeed, rather exciting. I seem to remember a lot of screaming, my own included.

If you need a break from the 2018 Olympics, you might want to watch Miracle (2004), starring Kurt Russell as the U.S. ice hockey coach, Herb Brooks. It is pretty good and worth it to see Kurt Russell rock the (terrible) 1980 fashion and hair.

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Have a good weekend!

*Psalm 51: 3

BTW: the painting at the top is Saint Catherine of Siena besieged by demons (Anonymous). St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, VA, on the other hand, is named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of young women.

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February 13, 2018

Let us eat pancakes

by chuckofish

Today is Shrove Tuesday. Can you believe it? Lent starts tomorrow.

Pieter_Bruegel_d._Ä._066.jpg You will recall that pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent because in the olden days they were a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. So Mardi Gras, French for “Fat Tuesday”, refers to the practice of going all out on the last night of eating richer, fatty foods and over-drinking before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season. (Liturgical fasting emphasizes eating plainer food and refraining from food that would “give pleasure.”) It is not my vibe, of course, and I have to say, it even embarrassed me to look at the pictures in The Riverfront Times of our hometown revelry.

Well, we’ll go over to church after work for some pancakes and camaraderie–sans revelry. Then we’ll head home to watch more Olympics. I DVR them and then fast forward through the commercials.

We watched quite a bit of cross country skiing over the weekend. You have to love a sport that is still so dominated by Norwegians. The same goes for those orange-wearing Netherlanders and speed skating.

I love our American athletes, but we don’t have to win everything.

Enjoy your Tuesday. As George Herbert wrote:

… It’s true, we cannot reach Christ’s fortieth day;

Yet to go part of that religious way,

Is better than to rest:

We cannot reach our Savior’s purity;

Yet are bid, Be holy ev’n as he.

In both let’s do our best.

–from “Lent”

Do your best!

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February 9, 2018

“Lift your head a little higher, Spread the love like fire”*

by chuckofish

What a long week this has been! I am way more than ready for the weekend!

Daughter #1 is driving in from Columbia tonight and we will watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics and toast our American team.

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Team U.S. Curling is ready to go!

On Saturday there is a gallery auction at the Link Auction House and we are going–how nice to have company!

Have you been looking for a copper deep sea diver’s helmet? There are two available!

Tomorrow night is the “Elegant Italian Dinner”–the annual fundraising event for our youth mission trip at church–such a major social event!

The OM will accompany me, but daughter #1 will be otherwise occupied.

And, of course, we hope to see the wee babes, those adorable goofballs.

That’s enough, don’t you agree?

“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him.Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”

–Thomas Merton

*tobyMac, “Speak Life”

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February 7, 2018

The Games of the III Olympiad

by chuckofish

That’s right–the third Olympiad. Lest we forget–the 1904 Olympics were held here in my flyover town.

And that is pretty cool. We are, after all, one of only three cities in the U.S. — one of only 23 in the world — to host the Summer Games. And, of course, my flyover university–where most events of the third Olympiad took place–is going to “add another architectural jewel to its historic campus later this year when an Olympic Rings ‘Spectacular,’ a five-ring sculpture, is installed at the end of Olympian Way, on the southwest corner of the Danforth Campus.” Oh boy.

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But why did they ever get rid of the tug-of-war?

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Well, things haven’t changed that much on campus. Still a lot of pink granite and ramparts.

Here’s an article about the “St. Louis’ Olympic legacy” with a lot of pictures.

By the way, did you notice that lacrosse was one of the team events in 1904? Speaking of lacrosse, here’s the boy’s latest video featuring D2 Lindenwood University’s team.

(That was a smooth segue, right?) Still pretty chilly for lacrosse.

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February 1, 2018

“And you O my soul where you stand, …Ceaselessly musing, venturing…”*

by chuckofish

Hello, February!

The Olympic Games in PyeongChang begin in a little over a week.

This is the second time South Korea has hosted the Olympics–remember the summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988? I can’t say I remember much about them. I always used to love the winter Olympics with the skiing and the skating and the bobsledding. But I have to say that all the “big air” snowboarding and such leaves me cold. No one is an amateur anymore. Like everything else, it is all about the money and the politics. Oy.

It is also Black History Month.

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In the Episcopal Church we celebrate the life and ministry of the Rev. Absalom Jones, the first African American ordained as a priest in the U.S. “Stepping outside the box this year,” the diocese has designed a morning program for children and parents or grandparents. Gee, I can’t wait to bring the wee babes to this when they are old enough to appreciate it. We sent our kids to a public elementary school where they were in a racial minority, so they have always felt pretty comfortable wherever they find themselves–unlike those kids in the picture above who, we are led to believe, will encounter people of color in a “museum”. Oy.

The Orchid Show starts at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Screen Shot 2018-01-31 at 1.25.20 PM.png But orchids always kind of freak me out.

The air was thick, wet, steamy and larded with the cloying smell of tropical orchids in bloom. The glass walls and roof were heavily misted and big drops of moisture splashed down on the plants. The light had an unreal greenish color, like light filtered through an aquarium tank.

Maybe I’ll just stay home and re-read The Big Sleep.

Thank goodness it is 31 Days of Oscar month on TCM. Lots of good movies to watch and/or DVR.

yankee doodle dandy.jpg Find something to do this month that you can relate to. Engage with some real people. Have fun! .Don’t waste the month of February.

*Walt Whitman, “A Noiseless Patient Spider”

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February 7, 2014

All that is gold does not glitter*

by chuckofish

So last night was the first night of televised Olympic coverage. Did you watch?

Traditionally I have always enjoyed the Winter Olympics–all that skiing and those other Nordic events remind me of my mother who was such an enthusiastic winter athlete in her youth.

I remember the Lillehammer, Norway Olympics in 1994 most fondly. The Norwegians were great hosts. My kids were old enough to be interested then and that was around the time when the boy got into speed skating.

He was pretty good and, had we decided to send him to live in Colorado so that he could skate year-round, who knows, maybe he would have gone to the Olympics with Apolo Ohno. But that was never our style. And I could never picture him with those huge thighs.

Anyway, I can’t say I’m too excited about Sochi, a beach venue located on the Black Sea near the border between Georgia/Abkhazia and Russia.

As you recall, Sochi was established as a “fashionable resort” area under Joseph Stalin, who had his favorite “dacha” built in the city. (Fashionable resort in conjunction with communism seems like an oxymoron, don’t you think?) But, hey, Stalin’s study, complete with a wax statue of the leader, is now open to the public. Oh boy. I can just picture the NBC color coverage of this. No thanks.

However, chances are I will find myself glued to the telly anyway for the next two weeks. I will probably get a lot of needlepoint done. And maybe I’ll sort through those giant piles of magazines.

Bottom line: I like to root for the home team. Go, U.S.A.!

Team U.S.A., opening ceremony, 2010 Olympics

* J.R.R. Tolkien

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August 8, 2012

Mid-week movie pick

by chuckofish

Our movie pick as the end of the 2012 Olympics approaches is kind of a no-brainer and we have blogged about it already here, but we do love this movie! Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film, which tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God,

and Harold Abrahams, a determined British Jew who runs to prove he’s as good as (if not better than) anyone else.

Harold does have an enormous chip on his shoulder in the movie, and whether this was the case in “real life” we don’t know. The fact is he ran the 100m race in 10.6, a mere second slower than the great Usain Bolt did a few days ago, eighty-eight years after Abrahams. I say, hats off to Abrahams and Liddell in their old-fashioned shoes and baggy shorts!

The film was written by Colin Welland and directed by Hugh Hudson, and was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning four, including Best Picture. It is ranked 19th in the British Film Institute’s list of Top 100 British films.

I loved this movie when it was first released in 1981 and saw it 3 times in the theater, before the days of VHS and DVDs made that kind of desperate action unnecessary.

The film’s title was of course inspired by the line, “Bring me my chariot of fire,” from the William Blake poem adapted into the popular British hymn. “Jerusalem” was a popular hymn at our private school, where we sang it often in our morning chapel service. Here is a snippet of the hymn to get you in the mood:

The original phrase “chariot(s) of fire” is from 2 Kings 2:11 and 6:17.

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August 7, 2012

Olympic update

by chuckofish

Yes, I have been watching the Olympics–what else would I do in the quadrennial summer of 2012? And it hasn’t been easy, considering that here in our flyover state we are bombarded relentlessly by repetitive and snarky political ads during the Olympic coverage. Aye carumba.

Furthermore, I must admit, I have not been impressed with NBC. (Don’t get me started on Bob Costas.) And I hate all the purple and magenta. I guess William and Kate the Great and the U.S. swimming team and Misty May Treanor make up for all this. And this little lady: