Trending
There is a song that reminds us that "It's summertime, and the living is easy." Well, I guess that's true for some folks. I don't imagine there is anything easy about summertime for the hundreds of men and women competing at the Olympics in Paris.
We have tuned into some of the events that grab our attention, flipping channels to catch various competitions. Who can't be amazed by the gymnastic events featuring some of this country's finest athletes? The floor and bar performances are breathtaking to watch.
You have to imagine that somewhere along the way to the Olympics those young people got their start on a backyard or playground jungle gym and swing set.
I didn't realize, too, that table tennis (ping pong to me) could be so compelling. Watching the fast-paced back and forth motion of the players brings to mind scenes from the "Forest Gump" movie. I'll bet Tom Hanks has viewed the table tennis portion of the Olympics, maybe even from a seat in France.
Then there are the swimming competitions that remind me of my younger days when I could swim across the large outdoor pool at Oglebay Park faster than my day camp counterparts. Day camp was a great place to learn to swim, and campers loved the night swims when we had the pool to ourselves.
Counselors enjoyed challenging teams of swimmers to events including which team could carry a greased watermelon through the water from one side of the pool to the other. It was not exactly an Olympic-level competition, but it was fun and exhausting, too.
Watching the volleyball competition gave me a new perspective on just how much hard work it takes to make it to the gold medal stage. These competitors aren't your typical sand and beach players. They are strong athletes with some serious, enviable abs.
There are so many different sporting competitions that it's hard to see them all. I have, however, witnessed a few events locally that could be viewed as Olympic-like competitions. For instance, I have witnessed shoppers carrying five or 10 plastic bags of groceries in one trip to their vehicles without dropping anything. Now that takes talent.
How about the young mother or father carrying an infant on their chests, holding hands with a toddler and taking the dog for a walk all at once. That requires strength and coordination. I've seen that more than once.
Don't get me wrong, I truly admire all the time, effort and hard work that Olympic athletes devote to their skills.
They deserve medals and more. Just don't count us regular folks out as we face Olympic-sized challenges every day. Like parallel parking. Enough said.
Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@gheintelligencer.net.