OLYMPIC DREAMS

OLYMPIC DREAMS

I am a sucker for the Olympics... I am watching the Opening Ceremonies right now.  I wish the NBC director would pull out for more wide shots so I could get more of a feel or the ENTIRE look of the spectacle Danny Boyle is attempting to create.  But, hey, everybody is a critic!  So if you want to criticize something, you can read over this OLD poem... written for a former flame of mine, swimmer Jeff Float (was there ever a more perfect name for a swimmer?!) after he won a gold medal in the 4X200 freestyle relay in the 1984 Olympics.  Jeff and his relay teammates had been ready to go in 1980, but because the US boycotted those games, they had to train for four extra years in order to compete for a medal.  At the time, there was not the kind of training system in place for Olympic athletes that now exists (nor were they allowed to accept the kind of subsidies and sponsorships that are now available to aspiring Olympians).  These guys were out of college and had to find ways to train without much support... at the time of the 1984 Olympics they were 23, 24 and 25 - considered ancient for male swimmers back then (Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte are 27).  When they won, it was an incredibly moving thing. I cried watching Jeff and his teammates on the medal stand (I still often tear up viewing the Olympics). I later wrote this poem for Jeff, who, in addition to being a world-class athlete, just happens to be deaf...

TEARS IN THE EYES OF STRANGERS

(written for Olympic gold medalist Jeff Float)

Deep within each human spirit

lies a bit of greatness 

an untold excellence

waiting to be discovered.

Within us all

God has hidden a part of himself

that is perfection.

All men are ordinary.

It takes an ordinary man

with extraordinary courage

to seek out the best within himself

and reach the potential 
God gave him.

And on the rare occasion

when a man rises above his limitations and fears,

struggles through pain, self doubt and failure

to achieve even one fleeting moment of greatness,

all of mankind is enriched.
The accomplishment of a single individual
can inspire millions.

Pride swells the hearts 

of all who see the beauty and strength 

of the human spirit,

and brings tears

to the eyes of strangers.

Written in 1984