Hello e-friends.
Can you believe it’s July 6 already? Summer is flying by. But being the best season of the year, I guess it always has wings.
Usually, I get a little sad around this time of year. Not because of summer’s fast-approaching end, but because all of the fervor of the patriotic season begins to fade. And soon, the waving American flags and bunting on every corner in the city will give way to the lights of the Holiday season (which are also awesome, but it’s just not the same to a patriotic girl like me.)
But this year is different. Today, I celebrated my birthday (yes, the stars were aligned at my birth - I am innately patriotic – LOL) and my favorite veteran and fabuloso grandfather said to me: “Lexi, I have a surprise for you that will have you singing the national anthem until the turn of the year.”
Well, I do that anyway (especially in the car when I’m free to go for the high notes), but a little more inspiration never hurts. And, you will never believe the sort of inspiration my favorite veteran, hero, and awesome grandfather provided……..
Did you guess? TICKETS TO BEIJING!!!! That’s right e-friends. I am going to THE OLYMPICS!!!! For TWO WEEKS! I am going to experience not only a series of sporting events that comes only once every four years, but the brightest, most heartfelt patriotism of people from every corner of the globe. It is going to be absolute heaven. And the opening ceremonies….OMG!!! Seas of flags….of every color, shape, size.
After my second piece of cake, I excused myself so I could begin my late summer, pre-Olympic quest: Arrive in Beijing able to appreciate at least a little of the history and culture of every single country participating in the games.
Where to start? Greece, of course. Where it all began…..
The Ancient Olympic Games began in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece. But unlike the great globe-encompassing, cultural infusion of today, only free men who spoke Greek were allowed to participate in these original games (as a modern woman, I’ll refrain from comment here).
These “games” also originally featured just one event – a sprint. The actual length is still unknown – conflicting historical evidence indicates it was somewhere between 180 and 240 meters. There were no ancient stopwatches, LOL, so the race was measured with the use of stakes – a total of 5. The first free, Greek-speaking man (couldn’t resist) to pass the fifth stake was crowned the winner, earning himself, among other things, an olive wreath.
More races were added to these first Olympics – in 724, 720, and 520 BC (wow, they just LOVED to run). And over the 1,000 year span of these first Olympics (mind-boggling, isn’t it – 1000 years!), more events like wresting and some equestrian events (which women were FINALLY allowed to participate in) were added.
Then, in 393 AD Theodosius I outlawed the Olympic Games, ending a thousand years of festivals. In 1883, a nostalgic Greek newspaper editor and poet named Panagiotis Soutsos wrote “Dialogue of the Dead”, inspiring the return of the Games.
Well, e-friends, there is so much more history – the five rings, the evolution of events. But it is getting late and my over-indulgence on chocolate cake is making me sleepy. Until next time (in Beijing!!), I’ll leave you with the below tidbit from my research – not exactly uncommon knowledge, but I just always pictured the men running in togas – LOL.
“The athletes usually competed in the nude, not only as the weather was appropriate but also as the festival was meant to celebrate, in part, the achievements of the human body.”
So how would a Nike sponsorship work? LOL,
Lexi
Hello e-Friends.
Hope you are enjoying the heat of summer. It has been sooooo HOT lately. I live in the South and we are experiencing a heat wave. Not exactly atypical but I always forget just how hot it gets.
*Sigh*. Well, on these lazy summer afternoons, I find myself sitting in a hammock, looking at fashion magazines – what’s up with these modern interpretations of “Old World Glamour” this season? LOL
I also find myself wandering down all sorts of patriotic avenues of thought.
Today, I was really focused on the idea of honor. What does it mean to honor? And how do we do it? And why is this word so intertwined with patriotism across the globe? We honor our flag, Old Glory. We honor our parents and family. But there is a special kind of honor reserved for those who serve our country. And that is the shade of meaning I am most focused on in this sweltering afternoon heat.
So let’s start with the basics – the definition. Honor can be used as both a noun and a verb. To understand the verb, we must first understand the noun:
Honor (noun, primary definition) -honesty, fairness, or integrity in one’s beliefs and actions
(verb, primary definition) - to hold in high honor or respect.
IMO, the reason we honor our war heroes is because there is no greater way to show your integrity than by serving your country.
Every year, in the month of May, we offer tribute to those who have died in service to our country with Memorial Day. But this is only one day, and because our citizens love the great melting pot that is the United States, they have sacrificed so much since the country’s inception. Sometimes, one day is just not enough.
One of the greatest extensions of paying tribute to our veterans IMO is the Vietnam Memorial. This beautiful piece of art, this great monument to our servicemen and women, was completed in 1982. But like so many great things, its development took some time. There is lots of history (and controversy) surrounding this monument, but I am choosing to focus on its initial development and christening. Because, as my grandfather always says, “The squabbles along the way aren’t what defines something. It’s the end result.”
And as always, thanks to my beloved wikipedia.com for providing a wealth of information.
- 1979 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. was created to establish a memorial to veterans of the Vietnam War.
- 1980 - Congress authorizes three acres near the Lincoln Memorial to be used as a site for the memorial.
- 1980 - 2,573 register for design competition with a prize of $50,000.
- 1981 - 1,421 designs for the memorial are submitted! to 232, finally 39. The jury selected Entry Number 1026.
- 1981 - a jury of eight architects and sculptors selecte a design by Maya Ying Lin, a 21 year old Yale University architecture student.
- 1982 - The Three Soldiers was added to the design as a result of controversy over Lin’s design.
- 1982 - The design was formally approved & ground was finally broken.
- November 1982 – The memorial is dedicated following a march to its site by thousands of Vietnam War veterans. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places the same day.
So e-Friends, if you have a chance to see it, you should. It’s the best kind of art – art that honors (IMHO).
If you love tributes, check out this super-fabuloso “Virtual Wall of Honor” from my friends at Carrot-Top Industries:
http://www.carrot-top.com/catalog/Virtual-Wall-of-Honor,982.aspx
Art? Yes, virtually…..
Until next time e-Friends,
Lexi
