By Rob Ficiur

A week ago we were in Redcliff when the Olympic Torch made its 15 minute stop.  The weather that Saturday night was ideal (and considering what the weather has been like the last six weeks we were lucky.)  The crowd of several hundred that waited patiently for the torch to arrive was a very upbeat crowd.  Many of us old timers still remember the 1988 Olympic Torch run – and realize that the chance to participate this type of event could be a once in a lifetime occurrence.
When we arrived they gave us a limited edition glow bottle.   Only 249,999 others across Canada have a bottle like mine.  I had never seen a bottle quite like this where it changes colors.  Later I found out that if and when the battery runs out there is a way to change the batteries.  The sponsors of the Torch run, Coke and RBC had their big vehicles as part of the procession.  I know that Olympic sponsorship costs companies billions and out of that I got a glow bottle.
As we got ready for the torch to arrive I found out that my camera batteries were dead.  My back up batteries were almost dead.  Note to self, when you are going to a once in a lifetime event, make sure you charge your batteries.  In spite of the sluggish batteries we got some memorable pictures as the torch ran in and out of Redcliff in a 10 minute span.
Last week I wrote that while my then 11 year old daughter touched the 1988 Olympic torch she worried that her long hair would catch fire.  In 2010, my youngest, now 15 years old, worked himself to the front of the crowd to take pictures.  He was close enough that he felt the heat of the torch as it went past him.  Since there were no injuries these are memories he will have for a lifetime.
Just before the torch arrived, the sound system played “O Canada.”  I cannot guess how many hundreds of times have heard and sang O Canada.  However, this time seemed special.  As Canadians some of our favourite hobbies include bashing the government (all levels are included, in our complaining we are not prejudiced) for the way they are running the country.  While we do have some legitimate concerns, we live in a wonderful country.  Celebrating this in Redcliff, where I knew no one in the crowd, didn’t matter.  We were all celebrating Canada.
Once the torch left Redcliff, we headed back towards Bow Island through Medicine Hat.  It was my first and probably only attempt to be a paparazzi.  For a brief second, I thought that we might see the torch again as it went through Medicine Hat.  Grid lock is not something I have seen often on Medicine Hat streets – but the Trans Canada moved at a snail’s pace as the torch went to the tepee.  The half dozen or so police cars that were escorting the torch (a mile ahead of me) convinced me that my paparazzi pictures of the torch weren’t going to happen.   I did marvel at the thousands of people gathered around the tepee to celebrate the torch.  (But I bet those of us in small towns got closer).
In Ancient Greece, the Greek city states stopped their wars with each other when it was time to participate in the Olympics.  The modern Olympic games, which started in 1896, have not brought global peace.  However, the Olympics (despite all their flaws) does give the world a chance to for everyone across the globe to play nice together for a few weeks.  Perhaps the Olympics are the only event that gives us a glimpse of how the world could live and work together in peace.
That night when I got home, I made the mistake of watching the late night news.  Saturday January 16 was Day #4 since the massive Haitian earthquake.  The pictures and news reports are enough to make one cry.  This time as I watched, I saw something I hadn’t noticed before.  The various reports showed the following:  An Brazilian soldier digging through the rubble for survivors.  In another part of the city a Russian soldier dug for survivors as well.  Food had arrived from Switzerland.  Argentinaian relief workers were trying to get aid out to the people.  The Canadian military was sending 1,000 troups to Haiti to provide law and order.  Without some type of law in place, distributing food to the needy would be difficult if not impossible.
The Haitian earthquake and the Olympic torch are as opposite as two events can be.  One celebrates sports and athletics (sponsored by commercialism) and the other shows the destructive power that mother nature can have anywhere at any time.  Despite their differences, the two events both symbolize people working together as citizens of earth trying to help strangers they have never met.