US Wins Gold in Men's Figure Skating
As we have seen portions of the Olympic Games broadcast from Canada this week we have thought many times about the many talents that each person participating in the games has worked so hard to develop and use. In spite of the differences between cultures we have also seen a lot of comaraderie amonst the participants; more than I would have expected to see, especially at times between countries that have had less than friendly relationships in other venues. It reminds me of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City where there were concerts and other cultural events referred to as the “Cultural Olympiad” where music making and other fine arts were shared with the Olympic Audiences in the evenings. At the same time I have thought about a family who went on a local skiing trip last week and had to come home without their patriarch.
Stephen Rowley
Steven Rowley went with his family members to enjoy an evening of skiing, leaving his wife and one of his sons at home because they had other commitments. They never saw him alive again and the injuries that caused his death at age 52 are somewhat of a mystery. He was found unconscious somewhere on the hill with severe internal injuries and was not able to be revived by EMTs on the scene. We attended his funeral services today, which were a celebration of his life and that of his family. It was a combination of happy and sad as events which filled his life were explained and described. His family loves him and he loved them too. They will be alright but the pain and sorrow will take some time to overcome. We pray for them as well as others who may be in the same situation. The athletes at the Olympics did their best today. Some won gold medals, others with high expectations had unexpected issues and were out of the running even before the final events in their fields. Life is precious. We all need to look at the positive side of every situation and stop dwelling on negative things. The circumstances we find ourselves in, whatever they may be, could probably be worse than they are. Think of the people in Haiti. Many of them have lost absolutely everything. We need to be more grateful for what we have, including friends and family, homes, relative peace, health, and food.
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