I’ve been going through withdrawals; Russ tells me it’s going on four years now, and that’s a long time . I have to believe most addicts , after detoxing, experience just a few weeks of withdrawal. But not me, I take it to the limit.
We all know I have many addictions; food, reality TV, George Clooney, but I don’t think there is a program for the withdrawals I have been going through the past four years. I’m sure there are others out there like me, I can’t be the only one. Luckily it will be over soon, my fix is coming.
My addiction is quite harmless, it just involves a short period of time between Feb. 12 and Feb. 28. Not a long time really but for me that is all the time I need, well, until 2014. It’s that four years in between that’s the killer.
My family knows not to bother me during this time, and they will be lucky to have a meal of any type during the 17-day stretch.
In fact, they will be better off to just leave because sometimes I get carried away and it can be little rough on them. My eyes become so red and irritated, I don’t sleep, and I shut off the outside world.
On Feb. 12, 2010–the Olympic Cauldron will be lit in Vancouver and the games will begin! Yes, I am an Olympic junkie! Isn’t admitting it the first step to recovery? Mostly a winter Olympic junkie that is why I have four years of withdrawals, and boy is it rough, especially as I grow older.
My favorite is figure skating and lately I’ve become fond of the luge.
Ice skating wasn’t added to the the Olympic line up until 1908 but they had problems keeping the rinks cold enough during summer so eventually it was decided that winter games were perhaps best left to winter.
The first Olympic winter games were held in 1924, in France. During the first winter games 16 nations participated, bringing 258 athletes (11 women, 247 men) to compete in 16 events. This year during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic winter games, many more athletes, approximately 2,500, will compete in 15 sports in over 86 separate events.
The Olympics have a long history, but they weren’t televised internationally until the 1956 Winter games. That was the year I was born so I can’t give you any inside information, but I do remember when my fascination with the figure skaters began.
The year was 1972 and the skater Janet Lynn, who was cute and blonde, became such a sensation on the ice. That same year the summer Olympics were held and Mark Spitz won seven gold medals in Munich Olympics–an achievement surpassed by Michael Phelps who won eight in the 2008 Olympics.
He also set 33 world records in each of the seven events.
After the 1972 winter games and Janet Lynn I became obsessed along with everyone else in the country with Dorothy Hamill in 1976.
Dorothy and I are the same age so when I watched her become the Olympic champion that year I was hooked.
Her bobbed hairstyle she wore during her Olympic performance started a fad. She even had her own doll.
I have my calendar of events and the lineup ready to go. I am looking forward to a couple of my favorites; Sasha Cohen the 2006 silver medalist in figure skating and Apolo Ohno, the five-time Olympic medalist for speed skating in 2002 and 2006.
Also I’m sure snowboarder Shaun White will make us all proud and come home with the gold.
Let the games begin!
