Citius, Altius, Fortius

William Blake- "Jerusalem"

We never had a television at home when I was growing up and I have no memories of the Olympics until the 1976 summer games in Montreal, Quebec. Two of my friends volunteered at the event and shared their first hand stories. After that, I looked forward to watching the games on TV every 4 years and then every 2 years starting in 1994. I prefer the Winter Olympics which have more cohesive coverage because they are smaller. Besides, who can resist at least one really excellent hockey tournament. Olympic hockey is so much better than NHL hockey in my opinion.

In recent years, the Olympic image has become increasingly tarnished by scandal, money and power. Judging of artistic merit in sports such as figure skating and gymnastics is flawed and political. The Olympic movement is controlled by corporate money with endorsements and sponsorships required for athletic training. Performance drug use has been rampant for years and we are learning the creative ways athletes, trainers and even countries have acted to prevent detection. There is no longer any distinction between amateur and professional athletes.

My all time favourite Olympic story is told in the 1981 movie, Chariots of Fire. Athletic games were a vehicle for developing character, leadership, loyalty, honesty, mutual responsibility and national spirit. Eric Liddell, played superbly by Ian Charleson, was the epitome of an Olympic athlete. In his struggle between two callings, Eric Liddell wrote,

“I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast! And when I run I feel his pleasure.” 

He trained hard but did not compromise his personal convictions. He was gracious and encouraging to his competitors. He wrote, 

“In the dust of defeat as well as the laurels of victory there is a glory to be found if one has done his best.” 

In the movie, the Olympic Committee tries to get Eric Liddell to change his mind about running on the Sabbath. One member comments, 

"The lad, as you call him, is a true man of principle and a true athlete. His speed is mere extension of his life and his force. We sought to sever his running from himself. 

Eric Liddell went on to win the 400 m race at the Paris Olympics in 1924 and set a world record which stood for 12 years. He then left Scotland and fulfilled his calling as a missionary to China. He died in a Japanese prison camp in 1945. 

The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius, Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger". We may have reached the limits of human performance without artificial enhancement. But the Olympic Creed is timeless. 

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, 

just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. 

The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

Photo: Manitoulin Island sunset July 2016

Goodbye February, Welcome March

Whoever decided to make February a short month must have lived in the Northern Hemisphere in a place where it was endlessly white and grey and cold. The word cloud above was created on Wordle using February's blog posts. I won't point out the most frequently used words as they have had enough use this season. February had its highlights such as our weekend at Algonquin Park and the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

I am not a fan of professional sports but these games made me proud to be Canadian. American athletes excelled as well, but the gold medal hockey game was the final test of sibling rivalry between our country and our good neighbours to the south. Through the magic of Facebook, Yahoo messenger and telephone, we watched the game with my brother and nephew in the UAE, our daughter in Mexico and other family and friends in various cities in Ontario.

I put aside the lesson plan in Sunday School yesterday and allowed the children to cut out newspaper pictures of the Olympics. We talked about the verses in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 which make a comparison between athletic training and our lives as Christians. Here is a paraphrase from The Message.

You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race.
Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win.
All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally. I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

Welcome March! The weather might be sloppy it is time to live my life like an athlete, with discipline and a goal, but enjoying each day of the journey.

Olympic Countdown

The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics are almost here and the theme song "I Believe", performed by 15 year old Montreal singer Nikki Yanofsky, is featured on the YouTube clip. The Olympic Torch has travelled across Canada and I wrote this post when it came to our community in December. The video shows footage of the Olympic Torch Relay. I have mixed feeling about the "amateur" status of the Olympic games but I will watch for stories of courage and perseverance which will undoubtedly emerge in the next couple of weeks. Today the torch was carried by Sarah Doherty, an amputee from United States. Her story is inspiring and she is the type of champion I cheer for, one who embodies the Olympic spirit. This was taken from the Olympic Torch Relay website.

Paralympian Sarah Doherty is the final torchbearer and cauldron lighter in Sechelt. She has competed in athletics throughout her life. At age 14, she was struck by an impaired driver while riding her bicycle, resulting in the amputation of one of her legs.
Doherty was a member of the United States Disabled Ski Team from 1983 to 1985 and a member of the 1988 United States Adaptive Ski Racing Team. She is the first woman to summit Mount Rainier on crutches. She has also climbed Mount McKinley — the highest mountain in North America — as well as Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Doherty also competes at the international level in adaptive paddling and participates in kayaking and outrigger canoeing.
She holds a degree in occupational therapy from Boston University. She has worked on the development of specialized sport crutches, called SideStix, to help people with mobility challenges lead active, healthy and productive lives.
Doherty works as a pediatric occupational therapist. She is a role model to her clients and their families, demonstrating what a person with mobility challenges can accomplish.

Winter Fun for Free

This past Saturday was one of the beautiful winter days that we often enjoy in January. The sun was bright in the cloudless sky and a light north wind kept the air dry and the temperatures to a cool high of -5c. With the sun stronger than the wind, it was most comfortable to loosen your scarf, remove your gloves and to be outdoors for an extended period of time.

Getting ready for "curling"

My husband and I drove to the Hamilton area which is about forty minutes from our home. Hamilton is built on the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment divides the city into upper and lower areas. There are many beautiful parks and green spaces in Hamilton and neighbouring Burlington. We went to the Royal Botanical Gardens' Laking Garden area where a large marsh is an important birding area especially during migration times. The shallow water has frozen into a smooth surface and several groups of people had come with shovels and gear to enjoy outdoor winter sports.

Pick up hockey

There were at least three pick up hockey games in progress, free of referees, fans or protective gear. The young men were practicing their stick handling and passing skills with none of the goon antics of the professional sport.

A group of middle aged men and women cleared a long rectangle on the ice and set up to play a modified game of curling. They had stones with extra long handles but no brooms were apparent. Young children skated around frozen reeds and chased a large exercise ball across the frozen surface. Grindstone Creek runs on one side of the marsh and the running water was open. While signs were up warning people to stay off the ice surface, the water here is barely more than ankle deep.

Overlooking Burlington Bay

A little further along the shore, we walked a short trail overlooking Burlington Bay. People were sitting out on the benches soaking in the sun's rays as if it were a midsummer day. The Chickadees here expect handouts and my husband was happy to indulge them. He spent his time breaking peanuts into Chickadee-sized handouts because they appeared to be their favourite treat.

Black-capped Chickadee

As for me, there were plenty of birds to see including the well cared for group of Trumpeter Swans who are fed through the winter by volunteers. The January bird list on my sidebar has grown to 35 birds. Many other birders and photographers were about with cameras and binoculars.

Two Trumpeter Swans do synchronized grooming

The steel town has done an excellent job of shoreline restoration and has largely reversed its reputation as a dirty, polluting industrial centre. I went to university here in the mid 1970s and it was never a place I would have wanted to live. We drove by a number of (expensive) homes for sale along the bay and passed a large hospital overlooking Lake Ontario where I could find work while my husband made a living by fishing. ;-)
Maybe...
...maybe not
In the meantime it is a lovely place to visit.

Follow this link for more My World posts from around the globe.

Fear and Faith

The Grand River meanders through our city at a lazy pace. I have taken a two hour canoe trip along a stretch of it and encountered only a few areas of slightly fast flowing water. But 40 minutes upstream by car from our home, the river plunges through the Elora Gorge. Limestone cliffs 22 metres (70 feet) high tower above the river bed. The Canadian Falls at Niagara are about 55 metres for a height comparison.

I have never liked heights. I wouldn't look at pictures of waterfalls when I was younger and high flying rides do not amuse me at all. I have wanted to walk the trails at the Elora Gorge and visited on a beautiful afternoon this weekend. Over the years a number of people have fallen over the cliffs and a fence now runs about 3 or 4 metres from the edge for safety.


These men were standing on the unsafe side of the fence. One Axe Pursuits has set up a zip line across the gorge and I stopped to watch young adventurous people jump off the cliff and dangle over the river. Some came back on the high line and others were lowered into the river and climbed back up the long stone stairway.


One young woman waiting to be harnessed up was asked if she wanted to jump feet first or face first. The harness could be put on to provide either option. She answered,

"Well, I will never do this again, so I might as well go face first."

I had my camera focused on her as she prepared to jump and waited and waited. It must take time to gather courage for the leap. Off she went, flying face first into the air... and what a smile! She almost convinced me that this was a lot of fun.


This adventure was hardly risky with safety lines and harnesses and operators controlling all aspects of the jump. But leaping off cliffs goes against every human instinct and the natural fear that safeguards us from danger is hard to overcome.

Would I trust that zip line? I don't know.

All of us face fear in our lives, real or imagined. Conquering fear requires good support, just as these harnesses and ropes are designed to provide support.

Do I have support I can trust for what life may bring? I know I do, if I have the courage and faith to accept it.

Memorial Cup

Young Kitchener Rangers Fan

(All photos courtesy of Andre)

This is the Memorial Day weekend south of the border and the weather here is absolutely gorgeous. One week ago our Victoria Day long weekend was accompanied with rain, snow flurries and cold winds. And they call it the first long weekend of the summer season. Go figure!

Hockey season continues and the finals for this winter sport almost extend into summer. Our city is hosting the Memorial Cup championship in a round robin tournament that started on May 16th and ends tomorrow. The top team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) compete for the championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The host city's team also competes even if they did not earn a berth. Our Kitchener Rangers did win the OHL championship and entered as top team in the league.

Matt Halischuk

My husband is an avid Rangers fan and rarely misses a game. He travels to out of town games when possible including games in Erie PA, Saginaw MI and several Ontario cities. I would be happier if hockey games were two periods long instead of three and I don't know the difference between "offside" and "icing". But I am interested in the history of the tournament. Andre has kindly allowed me to use some of his terrific game photos.

Kitchener Rangers Commemorative Memorial Cup Jersey
Mike Duco

The Memorial Cup was donated by the Ontario Hockey Association in 1919 as a memorial to the Canadian dead of World War One. I never knew the history of the cup until our local team introduced special jerseys for the first game of the tournament. Some people think that a memorial to war dead should not be associated with something as trivial as hockey, but I think that any method of respectful remembrance for future generations is a good thing.

Spokane Chiefs' Goalie Dustin Tokarski

The Kitchener Rangers will play in the final tomorrow afternoon against the Spokane Chiefs. Spokane is the only undefeated team in the tournament so the game should be exciting. My niece Jaspenelle lives in Spokane and wrote a short post after she went to one of their games this past season.

Kitchener Rangers Goalie Josh Unice

Junior hockey is very popular in Canada and the fans are very enthusiastic. My husband plays goal in the Old Timer's League and is very proud of the the performance of the young Kitchener goalie Josh Unice. He had a 9-0 shut out in Friday's semi final game.

So who will win tomorrow's championship? Kitchener or Spokane? Check back tomorrow to find out.

And here's wishing our American neighbours and fun and safe Memorial Day weekend.

Sunday evening update...
Spokane won the Memorial Cup beating Kitchener 4-1.