This is the season of stretching—of sleepy old tendons being stretched into action and of young growing muscles being stretched into competition. The fields of America, sprouting eager grass, are ready to be filled with the pounding of feet making their cuts toward goals. The cheers of spring are an invitation to renew the physical—a reminder of the ligamental and the limber; of the energy released by your body in motion.
Pumping blood at cardiac speed can awaken an appreciation of the elegance of fit. The very word is easy to say, and comfortable to imagine. Fit. To fit in. To be fit. It fits. There’s a promise of harmony in fit and, at the same time, an aspiration to what is good.
Imagine the ancient Greeks creating the Olympics as their own tribute to the fitness of their bodies, their temples of the gods. Think about their rituals to greatness, their runs of marathon distances, their goddesses of celebration, trying to rouse sleepy Athens to believe in the physical, to celebrate its beauty. Imagine the audacity of that stretch.
Their high aspiration comes to us even today as we recreate their games. But of course, the old symbols have been tarnished and we’re left to wonder if the ambitions of powerful countries and corporations have robbed us of our ideals. Are the Olympics of our desire done, replaced by nothing more than a flexing of muscles for manipulation and mind control?
Not so fast. The flame is alive and well. In fact, I just saw it in Silver Spring, Md., at one of its less-publicized stops: the torch arrived at Duckworth Elementary School for people with the most severe disabilities and charged into the opening ceremony of their “challenge day” to rousing applause. Many of the students of Duckworth are in wheelchairs, many don’t have language, and many will not run marathon distances. But that’s beside the point. At Duckworth, it’s about the stretch. It’s about the spirit.
The events at Duckworth are a reminder that deep in our DNA, we Americans want to create a country of dignity and hope. There were the students of Concordia Lutheran Elementary School, volunteering at the age of 10. There were the Knights of Columbus, giving generously to human dignity. There were Apartment and Office Building Association workers (AOBA) donating their time (they were renamed the “Angels On Behalf of our Athletes”). There were the Beltsville Elementary School band, county officials, parents and grandparents, teachers and technicians. They were of every color and background, joined in the most universal of bonds: they wanted to make a difference; they were willing to try.
By their presence, they spoke the language of hope: however great the struggle, however weak the bodies, however hard the road, they stood their ground for the human spirit. You might say that the games at Duckworth were not the “real” Olympics. The assisted bowl, the body float and the 10 meter dash might not be familiar events.
But think again. To watch Amber Jones lift her arm just a few inches from her padded wheelchair to bowl (aided by Janisse Schimpf, an 8th grader from John Nevin Middle School), to watch her grandparents who made the long drive from Salisbury, Md., cheer for her, to watch her face, cocked to the right, barely able to move, but bright with a smile from ear to ear—that, my friends, is “real”.
When I spoke to the young volunteers at Duckworth, they were honest: it’s not easy to come to a place of difference. Most were afraid of their peers with special needs. Most were anxious about coming. A few participated only because their parents made them.
But they stretched, and in their willingness to stretch, they became Olympic. The world is hungry for those who overcome fear, for those who give life their all, for those who can find fun in pursuit of greatness. The athletes at Duckworth are an invitation, not just to those volunteers, but to each of us, to reflect on what we really admire and what we really want for ourselves and our children. The torch there burned for simple values: athletes who compete for the love of the game; friends who cheer in tribute to human beauty; courage and love as the measure of life.
That’s the torch we’re really looking for and that’s what we want in this springtime of stretching. You don’t have to turn on your television to see it and you don’t have to go to Beijing to participate in it either. Just put on your uniform of hope and let the blood flow into your tired spirit. You won’t be disappointed.
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Comments (6)
Dear Dr Shriver
I wish you a Happy Pentecost Day! May the Holy Spirit continue to inspire you to do the will of God for His greater glory in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour!
Soja John Thaikattil
Sydney, Australia
May 11, 2008 4:34 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on May 11, 2008 16:34
Dear DoTheRightThing:
You say, "Mr. Shriver's thesaurus must be worn and tattered after writing this essay with such unique word couplings. . ." Wrong.
Mr. Shriver simply utilizes the English vocabulary.
Tim,
You again are amazing, putting reality into words. However, there are no words that compare to the feeling that a person gets when looking at the Grand Canyon for the first time, seeing the birth of a baby or experiencing a big, wet kiss from a Special Olympic runner, who is celebrating last place because he stopped to help his competition along the way. Special Olympics has truly changed the world. It has opened the eyes of the bigots, the narrow-minded and those of us who thought we were helping when we treated people with mental retardation with pity. A co-working in the automotive business once told me that, as a boss, I can change what someone does - but I can't change what they think. Your mother, your father, and all of their children have even changed what people think. You are my bench mark.
May 8, 2008 12:36 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on May 8, 2008 00:36
Mr. Shriver's thesaurus must be worn and tattered after writing this essay with such unique word couplings as "fields sprouting eager grass", "pumping blood at cardiac speed", "deep in their DNA Americans want to create", "believe in the physical". But, unfortunately, more conventional phraseology may have been a better channel through which to communicate his message.
May 6, 2008 9:55 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on May 6, 2008 09:55
Dear Dr Shriver
I enjoy reading your essays as much for the poetic beauty of your language as for its deep and simple wisdom that comes straight from the heart.
Your work with the disabled fills me with awe. Yes how wonderful it is that you encouraged the disabled to stretch their bodies and their spirits and how humbling it is for the rest of us, who take our normal bodies for granted, to see how much joy the disabled experience in doing what we consider ordinary feats. Our starting point is what determines how much we have stretched. And we rightly applaud those who have stretched beyond their comfort zones.
You make an important point that we ought to stretch no matter in what way we do it, the point is to go beyond what we do now.
Wishing you a never ending springtime with your work that brings such joy to those who need it most! And yes, it has been reported over and over again by people who work with the disabled that they receive so much more than they give, in terms of love.
Soja John Thaikattil
Sydney, Australia
May 6, 2008 7:42 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on May 6, 2008 07:42
WaPo please note - these threads are no longer usable when this whack job starts posting his insane nonsense. Please monitor and expunge for the sake of other users.
May 5, 2008 11:46 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on May 5, 2008 11:46
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GRACiAS!
May 5, 2008 10:48 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on May 5, 2008 10:48