Flashback to 2002, Day 7

February 17, 2002:
Yesterday on the bus I was visiting with a couple from Montana who had driven their motorhome down to catch the festivities. Almost every time I ride the train or the bus I end up near a retired couple who are here and want to know what they ought to see. I have met some great people and everyone is friendly and patient and appreciative of everyone here who is helping with the events. I even had a pleasant conversation the other night on the Trax platform with a couple of obvious gang-bangers who looked over and asked if I was working with "that Olympics thing". We started talking about what they had done and I gave them some ideas about places they would like to see. They asked if I was getting paid and I said, "No, but I get to keep the outfit." They thought that was pretty cool. I got the impression that they were not used to a middle aged white woman chatting with them, especially at 11:30 at night. What a shame.
The outfit is even better than I expected. We have to wear these clothes for 8-12 hours at a time and they are remarkably comfortable. I was worried, since there are some fabrics that I don't enjoy, but the turtleneck shirts are soft and warm, but light, and the adjustable zipper neck is great for those of us with no necks. The coats move well and aren't heavy and stiff like I expected. I love the fleece vest - sometimes I run errands before my shift wearing the shirt and vest and it's plenty warm for that. I am lucky that I don't have to wear the ski pants - the IB is heated and I don't love that nylon swishing sound - and don't need the hat or headband - they are pretty small with all my hair. And the crosspack is wonderful - I may never carry a purse again.
Boy, I don't know if it is Sunday or what, but last night was so slow. We spent a large part of the evening just sitting in the IB gabbing. There were three of us - the law clerk, the seminary teacher and yours truly. The IB gang have gotten to be pretty good friends. The seminary teacher is a volunteer from Visitor Information Services and is an interesting guy - he retired from the Army about 5 years ago and wasn't sure what he was going to do. After being offered several jobs that he didn't feel great about, a friend called and said that he ought to check into teaching seminary. He loves it and I'm sure that they love him - it's obvious that he cares a lot about the kids and he has a positive attitude about everything he does. He said that this is just the same as the military - just working on a different battlefield.
I was able to work out acreditation for a freelance Czech journalist - the media center is probably the most secure area around. You practically have to furnish a pint of blood and your mother's shoe size. Some enthusiastic Australian fans wanted to go find their broadcasters, maybe for a personal perspective on the surprise medal, and were sure that if they showed up they could get someone to let them in to hang. Nothing I said could dissuade them. They spotted the location on our map and headed out. I wish I had been able to follow and watch. We also had a bunch of Swiss, Austrian and Norweigan fans and athletes who had to be dispatched to their respective parties. I hear that some of those national houses get pretty lively.
LOST AND FOUND PROBLEM OF THE NIGHT: Not quite L & F, but a problem, anyway. A young guy was going through security and the guardsman wasn't careful and dropped his video camera. He checked to see if it worked and it did, but later found that the zoom was broken. We've had people hysterical over a lost glove, but he was so patient and understanding that we couldn't believe it. He waited for a supervisor and filled out forms and was calm and polite. We lucked out.
Walking back to the shuttle to take me back to the Fairgrounds I walk over the North Temple viaduct. There are twenty or so train cars parked on the tracks there. I found out that they have all been restored and refurbished and are housing dignitaries there. Some of them are beautiful and look like the Orient Express. At night you can sometimes see folks in there having dinner or parties. Too bad it isn't a better neighborhood.