Saturday, July 27, 2024
After watching the most spectacular Olympic opening ceremonies ever, the best I have ever seen, I’m giving up my Anglophileship and becoming a Francophile! Forget this royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle. I am now a baguetteer, a musketeer! Forget Shakespeare and Dickens; I’m exchanging them for Dumas and Hugo! I have been to France and to Paris and loved the country, but after last night, I fell in love with her again, and for me, Paris is a she! Last night it solidified its title as The City of Lights!
The opening ceremonies were dazzling, mysterious, very inclusive, stupendous, mind-blowing, beautiful, spellbinding. It made me envy all the Parisians who take their city for granted! It also showcased the city and all its landmarks, its people, its art and its music. I have watched a lot of ceremonies, but none like this one, ever! Did I mention that it was a very inclusive ceremony? Because it really was.
My first love, Belize, the Jewel above all others, in my heart, was there with one participant. The Bahamas, whose population is more or less on par with Belize, had a contingent of 47, or somewhere near that amount. It made me wonder why we have a Ministry of Sports? I realize that we are Third World, but most of the other attendees are also Third World! Maybe we will eventually get our house in order and give our athletes the attention and support they need and deserve to flourish!
But I don’t want to be negative. After watching that eye-opening performance last night I even forgot about Trump. What a ting! I forgot about politics and my upcoming birthday and my credit cards and growing old and waking up with aches and pains and climate change and a growing prostate and ears. I didn’t even think of Guatemala nor the ICJ nor religion. Although last night was almost religious in its intensity! It really was something to see, those opening ceremonies, a once in a lifetime event!
I talk about being an anglophone or a francophone, but deep down in my heart I’m a Belizean. Proud of my little country with all its beauty, its frailties, and its forgiving heart! And in the end, I just want to live in Yalbac, or Crique Sarco, or Reunion, to keep an eye on those hungry-eyed Guats, lusting for what they can never, ever have! Hopefully.
Glen