A week for Heroes and Villains

Posted by admin on August 10th, 2008 filed in Uncategorized

Last week, I put a notice on the site that my blog was on hiatus, but I feel I must write this blog entry, due to news I’ve seen over the past few days.

The 2008 Summer Olympics started in Bejing, China with opening ceremonies this past Friday, 08/08/08 - a special date for the Chinese hosts, btw.  Most of you already know about Michael Phelps and his quest to set a new total medal record in swimming.  You have probably heard of Shawn Johnson by now as well.  She’s the USA team’s powerhouse anchor in women’s gymnastics, but I wanted to write about a few other champions.

A couple of other names from swimming that you may recognize are Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin.  Dara Torres may be the most durable athlete of our lifetime.  At 41 years old, not only is she competing, but she has an excellent chance of taking gold again at this, her 4^th Olympic games.  What is Dara’s motivation this time around?  Her two year old daughter, Tessa.  “It is Tessa who I am doing this for. To show her when she is a little older that life has no boundaries if you commit to your dreams and never stop believing in yourself.”  Dara Torres will always be one of my heroes.

Natalie Coughlin was counted out by many people in the year 2000.  She suffered an injury to her shoulder that would stop most people in their tracks, but not Natalie.  She rehabilitated herself with a myriad of techniques including yoga, weight-training, and massage.  She then won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in the women’s 100 meter backstroke event and was a member of the silver medal women’s 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay with Kara Lynn Joyce, Amanda Weir, and Jenny Thompson.  She then broke a world record and won gold as a member of the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay.  Her lead-off split on the relay would have won gold in the individual 200 meter freestyle event.  A hero?  Indeed.

Raj Bhavsar could be considered an unlikely person for me to list in this entry.  After all, he did not make the men’s gymnastics team in 2004 and it was his best year as a gymnast, so far.  He seemingly fell short again earlier this year and was named as an alternate to the US Men’s Gymnastics Team.  Raj is a young man that I admire deeply, because, despite these setbacks, or perhaps, because of them, he has learned the most valuable lessons of all.  “Our career doesn’t have to define us.  There’s so much more to being human than all this.  Taking 100% responsibility, that’s probably the biggest life lesson that any of us could be taught.  Rather than feeling like a victim, I became the driver of the chariot.  I still don’t know what’s going to happen now, but I am going to put my best foot forward.  And with the perspective I have on life, I think I’ve already won in a way.”  Raj is competing in Bejing.  As an alternate, he replaced the injured Paul Hamm.  I am his newest and biggest fan.  Raj Bhavsar is a hero, big fucking time.

If you don’t know who the Lopez family is by now, you’re not paying attention.  They are the First Family of Tae Kwan Do .  Coached by their oldest sibling, Jean, the rest of the Lopez clan, Steven, Mark, and Diana will be kicking ass and taking names in Bejing.  How did they get there?  Amazing parents.  Everyone in this family is a hero, but none more so than the parents, Julio and Ondina Lopez.  Julio is an immigrant from Nicaragua who was always a big Bruce Lee fan.  When he moved to the states and started a family, Julio thought that getting his children involved in Martial Arts was a good way to teach them discipline and focus.  Boy, has that worked!  What makes this family shine, apart from the obvious athleticism, are their attitudes, personalities, and their commitment to one another.  These attributes are best reflected in a moment of true selflessness from Mark about his younger sister Diana, “I would rather her win than me.  She’s my little sister, and I want to see her happy.”  To the Lopez family, you are all heroes and I am proud to have you represent our country.

Mike Krzyzewski has been a legend in basketball for well over 28 years.  Currently the winningest active coach in college ball, he has led the Duke Blue Devils to the Final Four nine times and to two back-to-back national championships.  I watched the first period of the USA men’s basketball team’s game against the host country China this morning.  It remained close until later in the game, when the US team pulled away.  What stood out to me immediately was a marked difference in the teamwork of the 5 players on the court from USA teams past.  Our players played as a team and not just 5 talented individuals.  To me, this all about Coach K and his influence on these young men.  Want proof of Coach Krzyzewski’s commitment to teamwork, check out what he tells his players. “To me, teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless.” “Confidence shared is better than confidence only in yourself.”  I have confidence in our team this year and it’s not just because of the great individual players on the court, it’s because of the man leading them from the bench.  Mike Krzyzewski is a gentleman, a teacher, a coach, a veteran, and a philanthropist.  He played basketball himself under Coach Bob Knight at West Point and served in the US Army from 1969-1974.  The Coach and his spouse are co-chairs of the Duke Children’s Miracle Network Telethon.  This man is a hero in every sense of the word.

Lopez Lomong was one of the “lost boys of the Sudan”.  As a child, Lopez was attending a church service in Darfur, when militants stormed the church and abducted the children.  He was taken with the intentions of the terrorists making a child soldier of him.  Instead of that happening, Lopez escaped his captors and then ran, ran and ran.  He ended up in a refugee camp across the border in Kenya.  After living in that camp for 10 years on one meal per day, he finally caught a break.  After an interview with a U.S. embassy official, he was selected for a rescue program and relocation to the United States.  He resettled with his new family in New York, finished school and earned a scholarship to Northern Arizona University as a track star.  Keep your eye on Lopez Lomong during these Olympic games.  He’s not finished running just yet.  While his story and athleticism are amazing, what’s makes him my hero, is his cause, Team Darfur.  “I’m worried about the kids who are dying in Darfur and South Sudan. The kids don’t have the dream they could be Olympic athletes or doctors. I want those kids to reach what their dreams are. It’s not just what’s going on between the Chinese government and the Sudanese. It’s what’s going on with the people. We hope those kids can pursue what their dreams are.”

Sarah Reinertsen is not participating in the Olympics, but rather in another important sporting event that follows those games, the Human Race.  Sarah is an above the knee amputee and has been since she was 7 years old.  It has not slowed her down.  She is the first female above the knee amputee to complete the Iron Man Triathlon.  She currently holds world records in five different events.  I just learned about Sarah, having stumbled over a story about her just this morning, but she’s my hero.  She lives her life as a testament to never give up.  Oh yeah, and because of her quote, “Fear less, live more.”

Villains

I wish I could say that the heroes listed above are all that prompted me to write this week’s blog, but other items I must mention are acts of cowardice, infamy, and downright atrocity.

Two stories detracted from what is supposed to be a peaceful celebration and competition in Bejing.  The first came on Friday, when Russian troops trampled across the border and on the rights of the people living in the South Ossetia province of Georgia.

The fact is, South Ossetians are an independent people that have not been allowed an independent existence, despite their quest and struggle for that since the late 19^th century.  They have their own culture, speak their own language, and are not of the same ethnic background of either Georgians or Russians.  So, what’s the problem?  They want to be independent.  Georgia doesn’t want them to be, and despite whatever Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev may say, neither does Russia.  What they both want is to control this region.

Here’s the breakdown:  North Ossetia is a province in southern Russia, Southern Ossetia is a province in northern Georgia.  What the Ossetians want is to reunite the two provinces into one independent state.  Georgia wants to control Southern Ossetia and Russia, in a veiled bid to “help” that province, has gained control of the South Ossetian government.

Southern Ossetia has no oil, few natural resources, and it’s area has been almost destroyed in terms of useful goods, due to so much fighting over the last 100 years or so.  So, where does the problem lie?  Geography and control of the border, specifically the Roki tunnel.  The Roki tunnel is one of the main passageways between Russia and Georgia.  South Ossetia obtains as much as a third of its annual budget by levying customs duties on freight traffic between the two countries.  So, can that be all this is about?

No!  There is also the question of Southern Ossetia’s neighboring province, Abkhazia.  Also an “unrecognized” independent region of Georgia, they are a prize for both countries.  So much so, that this squabble over Southern Ossetia is probably just a precursor to Russia’s actual goal of obtaining Abkhazia.  What makes Abkhazia so important is the fact that it, as opposed to its Ossetian neighbors, is abundant in natural resources, is economically sound, and borders the Black Sea, an important point in terms of oil exploration.

The thing that really pisses me off is the timing of it all.  One of the greatest events for peaceful competition and cooperation is taking place in Bejiing.  There are even talks of Chinese reform, which is long overdue and so friggin’ needed.  In spite of both Russia and Georgia having athletes at these Olympic Games, Putin and Medvedev have chosen this time to play bully over Southern Ossetia and have slaughtered thousands of innocent civlians.

This puts the United States and every other “civilized” country in the world in a tough spot.  Georgia is our ally, though, in my opinion, they are wrong for denying the Ossetians their independence.  However, their wrongdoing is far overshadowed by the powerplay of Russia.

As if that news isn’t bad enough, Todd Bachman, father-in-law to the US Men’s Volleyball team coach, was stabbed to death on opening day at Bejing’s historical Drum Tower.  A 13^th Century landmark and one of the most beautiful sites in Bejing, it was the last thing that Todd Bachman ever got to see.  When his wife Barbara turned to help him, the assailant stabbed her also.  She clings to life this very minute in a Bejing hospital.  This was a random act of violence and the asshole responsible killed himself right afterward by jumping from the tower to his death.  Too bad he didn’t just take himself out of society’s misery.

My point is this, the heroes in this world are people who have learned to overcome adversity and personal struggle by learning to evolve as human beings.  Like Lopez Lomong, they struggle to change horrible situations with positive individual achievement and action.

Villains are the people contaminating the human gene pool through their bullying ways.  They are only interested in power and avarice.  Peace is optional and all too often dispensable.

My prayer, as usual, is for peace, love, and hope that some day, we can all belong to the group called heroes.

peace and love always,

j. edward “jerry” goodwin

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