Let the games begin...

Is is just me, or was Friday night's Olympic Opening Ceremony an absolute bore?

The British have such a rich history...... literature, music, The Royal Family, Kings and Queens and castles and villages........ and that show was the best they could come up with?  Not to mention the idea about the Queen jumping out of a plane.  Now you know that stunt had to be planned way in advance, being that the dummy or the person who actually made the jump was wearing the exact outfit that the Queen was wearing that night.  And did she really approve that nonsense? 

Give us all a royal blessed break.  I usually don't watch the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic games.  Both are sort of like the Academy Awards--- you think you should watch so you don't miss anything exciting or really important...... but after you sit in front of the TV for a while, you realize that your life is passing you by and you're staring at this little screen filled with people who have no impact whatsoever on your life...... and all of those minutes are gone, gone, gone..... and nothing really exciting or really important has happened.

But I watched...... because I thought the Queen would give an inspiring speech before the Games........ and I thought that Paul McCartney would knock the socks off the world-wide audience.  Well, Elizabeth spoke exactly one sentence....... and Sir Paul sang one song, never connecting with the audience at all.... he just sang "Hey Jude" for the umpteenth-thousandth time.

The best part of that show was watching the athletes from all the countries parade into the arena.... you could see their pride and accomplishment all over their smiling faces....... and some were trying to hold back tears of joy.  And, wonder of wonders, I didn't see any of the athletes talking on cell phones..... they were taking pictures as they walked, but you could see that they were enjoying the moment.

The moment I enjoyed the most was when we turned off the television..... I think this year's Opening Ceremony has cured me from all others that may follow.  My apologies to England......  I love your history, I love the Royals, I love your traditions.... but whoever wrote, directed and produced that mostly dark and definitely dreary program should be forever locked in The Tower.