Olympic Memories

Whenever the Olympics roll around, I am reminded of a favorite person of mine, my father-in-law, Bob Christianson. He’s actually my ex-father-in-law, but he told me once that I would never be an “ex” to him.

I interviewed Bob in 1999 for one of my writing classes. I’ve attached it in its entirety, but I’ll summarize by saying he was a world renowned, avid collector of Olympic memorabilia who attended all the Games from1976 to his death in 2016 – even in 1980 when the U.S. boycotted the Olympic Games in the Soviet Union.

As he did with most of his “kids,” Bob treated me to the Olympics. I attended the 1996 opening ceremonies in Atlanta with him. This was back when those ceremonies were simple and elegant, so it was a night to remember with Muhammed Ali lighting the Olympic flame, Gladys Knight singing Georgia On My Mind, and then-President Clinton formally opening the Games with a flyover by the Thunderbirds.

Thank you, Bob Christianson, for the memory of a lifetime.

As an aside, I would later learn that my future husband was also at those Games and that we both had tried our hand in the batting cage which simulated a major-league-speed pitch.

Years later, in my romantic-comedy-loving-mind I conjured up a “what if” storyline that had us actually meeting at the batting cage that day where we had a flirty exchange. Then, two months later when we had our real-life blind date, he would be stopped in his tracks when he walked into the restaurant and saw me, saying “It’s you!”

Of course, in my fantasy romantic comedy, I would be played by Meg Ryan.

Olympic Spirit