Got Gas? I Seriously Doubt It!

I don't think I have ever seen a case of what you believe will come to pass that surpasses what is going on this very moment with gas prices. If we ever needed proof that we are a society that is utterly addicted to oil, this is it.

I heard rumblings about how Knoxville was going to experience a gas shortage because of Hurricane Ike. I didn't believe it. Sure, gas shortages in the Houston area with all the people trying to evacuate, I get that. But seriously people....a gas shortage in Knoxville as a result, you have got to be kidding me. Oh how wrong I was!

Here is a piece from the local news about the impending local gas shortage. The minute there was a whisper of gas prices going up because of the shut-down of off shore drilling and on shore refining people went nuts. There were people at my work who went out at lunch time with over a half a tank of gas in order to top off. Stupid me thought it was all a joke so I stayed put with my not quite quarter of a tank. On my way home, I saw $3.99 at a gas station that I pass and was pissed. Then I passed another gas station and saw $4.47. I became irrate. The line was 5 cars deep. Hell people, you'd think there was a mandatory evacuation order for Knoxville because of this storm.

OPEC has got to be shitting a glee brick right now to watch the U.S. behaving like a bunch of oil starved maniacs.

Knoxville in the News

That's right...Knoxville, TN has been in the news a lot lately. Church shooting, school shooting. It isn't what is expected around here. And yet, CourtTV is camped out in this relatively small town city now for coverage of the Eric McLean trial.

I don't have a grand point to this post. I think what I want to write about is the whole misguided notion that society seems to have about "it could never happen here". Plain fact of the matter is, it can happen anywhere, anytime. Loading society up with guns wont stop it. If someone is going to go ballistic, they are going to go ballistic Metal detectors in schools? Fine, the shooting will occur right outside the school. Locking our kids up instead of letting them roam free? Fine, the predators will bide time. Monitoring computer usage? Fine, go anonymous. It just seems to me we can't stop a lunatic without stopping the behavior at a very early age.

You know, I suppose some of this comes from my new found jaded perspective of my job. Honestly though, I think I had come to this conclusion a long time ago. We are lost. I don't know how we find our way back, but there are lost souls out there who are going to do crazy things. And none of the rest of us will ever understand why.

Got Olympics?

I have to admit, it never occurred to me that anyone might hate the Olympics. Nor has it ever occurred to me that anyone might question the benefits of intense sporting competition. Allow me to define whom I see myself to be. I am a daughter, sibling, partner, friend, woman, feminist, scientist, depressive, athlete. None of that defines me any more than the other, but they are all part of who I am. I write this particular piece as an athlete.

It truly saddens me to hear that people hate the Olympics. It actually saddens me to the core because it seems to extend beyond the Olympic games into sports in general.

First, the Olympics. I understand how there can be issues with the Olympics. Certainly I did not and still do not necessarily think that Beijing should have received this summer's Olympics. I understand the human rights issues that swirl around it. That is why I think that the U.S. choice for flag bearer was undeniably brave. Lebanon has women on its team. In the grand scheme of things, how amazing is that?! In my mind, there can be no doubt that the Olympics brings about change like nothing out there ever has managed to do. Despite all else, it brings together the world for the briefest of times.

I understand that there may be issues with the commercial aspect of what is supposed to be an amateur event. However, whether we like it or not, the Olympics is a business just like everything else. Film, the arts of any fashion, the corporate world. There may be issues with the money that comes along with being an Olympic athlete. Be it endorsements or money given for a medal in certain countries...I see how that can be hard to swallow. Focusing on those issues, however, fails to acknowledge that an athlete chooses to give their life for a short period of time to all the training that goes into it. In many countries, there is nothing to gain from this. In fact, in many countries athletes live below the poverty line while they are training.

Finally, I understand that there might be questions about how this may or may not be healthy for the children who choose to follow the path of an Olympic athlete. Is it in the child's best interest? I think if the child is talented enough to be an elite athlete, it is. How is it any different from an intellectual child prodigy? How is it any different from a piano or violin child prodigy? If someone has the talent to excel, is it not in their best interest to strive towards excellence?

The concept of competition as a zero sum scenario misses the point for me. I started competing as a swimmer when I was six years old. I tried all sports out there before finding that swimming was it for me. Never was I destined to make it to the Olympics. I think I realized that fairly early on. However, I always had the goal of being the best I could be in the venue that I loved. How is that any different from what anyone ever does in whatever endeavor they choose? It isn't always win, lose, or go home. For me, and for most athletes I know, it was do your very best. When I fell short, I was disappointed, but I learned from that disappointment. I learned that you can't always be the best there is, but you can always be the best you can be.

I know for a fact five things. (1) All the times in my life when I suffered from a major depressive episode coincided with when I was not swimming. (2) All the times in my life when my grades suffered was when I was not swimming. (3) Swimming taught me discipline, focus, and grace in victory or defeat. (4) Swimming gave me a sense of community...with my teammates, with my school, with my family and friends. (5) Swimming gave me a way to express myself. I don't see how that is any different than anything else anyone else identifies with at a deep level.

To the very core of my being I believe that the athletes at the Olympics are there to have the chance to be the best in the world and if not that then to be a heroine/hero for their nation just by competing. Does the media make more out of it than they should? Probably. When do they not? But like it or not, the world identifies with sport. In the end, I honestly believe that, medal or not / money or not, an athlete competes because it is the ultimate acceptance of the gifts that they have been given. Regardless of how one feels about all the hype that surrounds it, to not accept the talent would be far worse a fate.