I LOVE you Daisuke Takahashi!!!!!!!

Did anyone catch the Men's Figure Skating short program the other night? Did you see the second skater of the evening, the one from Japan? Holy Cow!!!!!! NO one expected anything from him, as a matter of fact, he had a horrible knee injury that kept him from skating for a while and this was thougtht to be a little too much for his recovering body. He proved them all wrong!

What a spectacular display of the human spirit! He entered the ice in a black suit with what seemed to be fire up his chest. The Big Russian had just gone before him and since he can turn 4 times in one jump (known as "The Quad") and landed it successfuly, the commentators were already celebrating his Gold Victory. When the lively music started, Daisuke's attitude was bigger than life, much larger than his tiny 5'2" frame. He exuded confidence as he wound up to attempt his first jumps...and he executed and landed them perfectly. You could see the smile on his face as the weight of the Olympics were lifted from his shoulders. He then skated so beautifuly, to effortlessly that I almost forgot he was on skates! His artistry took him from one end of the rink to the other, not missing one single square inch of the ice. His transistions were flawless, his speed was perfect, his technicalitly was mindblowing and again, the attitude was SOOOO much fun to watch. When it came time for his footwork, it was as if there was a string holding him from the top of the Pacific Dome. I knew he was on the skates because I could see the spray from the cuts that his skates were making on the smooth surface, but he literally floated across the frozen stage with such ease, such grace and such conviction that my heart began to beat heavily in my chest. His personality was so huge, so present that people were already clapping for his amazing effort.  He was having the time of his life. He was living his dream that he worked so hard for, so many years of training all came down to this one 2.5 minute routine that he NAILED!!!!!!! When he finished, the smile on that tiny man's face could have blarred sunshine on his homeland thousands of miles away! He was so proud, so relieved and so satisfied with his performance that you could just hear the his concious saying to him..."YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!" He waved, smiled and bowed to a grateful, and very impressed, crowd. As he waited for his score, his beaming face told the world that no matter his marks, he was just so happy to be there, so happy to have skated his best. Then the score came up. The judges were pretty impressed because he was only .60 points behind the Russian, favored to leave the compition in the dust. That smile gained about 1,000 watts of power as his fists pumped and his coach slapped him on the back. I bet he is still smiling right now, I know I would be.

The human spirit that is displayed throughout the 12 days of games is truly a testiment to dedication, love for the sport and years of insane training. The human spirit is what captures millions of viewers and causes them to jump to their feet and yell out..."Way to GO!" The humnan spirit is so briliantly displayed during the World Games. I love that spirit!!!

This has nothing to do with adoption and I don't care!!!! Oh....I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!