I need a hero

Have you been watching the Olympics? I have. I'm so amazed by these athletes. And I have to admit, I'm a little jealous. One of my many childhood dreams was to compete in the Olympics one day. I always thought I would be a great gymnast or track runner. I never actually took a gymnastics class, but I could do a mean cartwheel followed up by a roundhouse. And running? When I was younger I was like a gazelle being chased by a lion. I don't mean to brag, but I was fast. And then something happened. I think it was puberty. Pretty much as soon as I hit junior high school my athletic abilities seem to have left the building. I mourned them for awhile, but then I joined the band. Know what? It helps to have a little bit of coordination going on in marching band. I prayed everyday of football season for God to help me stay in step and not make a fool out of myself. I'm telling you, I probably only played about 25% of the music while I was marching because it was just too difficult for me to blow on a sax and march at the same time. Especially with that enormous Q-tip hat on my head. The thing weighed ten pounds and was always falling down over my eyes. Who could march in step with that going on?

But as I watch Michael Phelps make swimming history and watch those powerful gymnasts do things with their bodies that defy imagination (and gravity) I really do wish I had put a little more effort into being the best I could be. Who knows? What with table tennis and trampoline jumping in the Olympics these days, it's probably just a matter of time before marching becomes an Olympic sport. I could have been a contender.