Canada Welcomes the World
I love the Olympics. Sure there’s an ugly side to the Olympics – drugs, cheating, money, politics etc. etc. But ya know what – that’s life. It’s the fact that a coin has two sides that makes it worth flipping. I love the ideals that the Olympics represent. If the idea of the Olympic ideals is hokey to you, well then I feel sorry for you. Cynicism is a sad quality. Not everyone lives up to the Olympic ideals but having ceremony and competition around such ideals every four years is good. It’s important if only to focus our attention on what’s right with the world. I love the stories that will unfold over the next two weeks. As that commentator for the opening sequence on ABC’s Wide World of Sports used to say, “the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition”. The Olympics are life encapsulated.
The Games are now open. I watched the Opening Ceremonies last night and as always with these types of events there were parts I liked, parts I loved and parts I could have done without. The highlight of the night for me was the tribute to the Prairies and Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”. The photographer side of me was totally captivated by the power of the simple visuals – blue, gold, wheat, flight, wide open space. That’s exactly what I aim to capture when I photograph the Prairies. I guarantee you I’ll be humming Joni’s incredible song next time I’m clicking the shutter on a wheat field. What other parts of the show worked for me? I loved the sequence with the orcas. Sarah McLachlan and k.d. Lang were wonderful. I thought the video of old Olympic moments against the Canadian Rocky Mountains was very good too. It was unfortunate for all those who put so much time into planning the event that the hydraulics didn’t play nice for the torch lighting but again that’s life. Sometimes things just don’t work out. I’m being totally honest, however, when I say that even if the hydraulics had worked and Catriona LeMay Doan had been able to light along with the others my memory of the torch lighting years from now would still be the Great One carrying that torch on the back of that truck with all those people running alongside. A great moment. I’m just glad he didn’t take a header off the back. So all in all I think VANOC did a really good job. I live in a really beautiful and diverse country and I think they captured that in the Opening Ceremonies. There were moments watching when I felt like I do when I am out in the Canadian landscape alone with my camera and I look around me at the incredible beauty that is the land I call home and I think to myself – I’m proud to be Canadian.
I’ll end today with the lyrics from Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”. Enjoy the Games everyone…
Bows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I’ve looked at clouds that way
But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way
I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It’s cloud illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all
Moons and Junes and ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I’ve looked at love that way
But now it’s just another show
You leave ‘em laughing when you go
And if you care, don’t let them know
Don’t give yourself away
I’ve looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It’s love’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know love at all
Tear and fears and feeling proud
To say “I love you” right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I’ve looked at life that way
Oh but now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I’ve changed
Well something’s lost but something’s gained
In living every day
I’ve looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It’s life’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know life at all
“Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell
