The Olympics. I know what some of the problems are. I don’t understand why they’re not permanently in Greece and just frequently improved. I know they cost a lot of money and countries, particularly this one, hide their social ills…

And I love them. I love the all the athletes. I love all the sports, even the ones I don’t like (boxing, yeah… not so much but still…) I love the precision and the daring; the strategy and the just plain chutzpah! I love the strength and the cunning! I love the hope and the pushing oneself beyond what is possible for any person to do!

I love that there’s a way for athletes whose countries don’t have a team to compete. I love that there’s a way for refugees to compete.

And people do the most beautiful and astonishing things. Once every four years. Young kids make it. Old farts make it. They take their gifts and they offer them to the world. How great is that? Pretty damned great.

And all the while, most of the time, people are kind and open and interested in meeting the athletes from another country. There is Peace in these games. There is Grace. May there be Peace and Grace in us as well. Let us watch. Let us remember.