The Husband DVR-ed the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics last night, & although I have not watched all of it yet, the sections that I saw were astounding. I was not sure that anything could top the Beijing Games opener, but I thought the section with a very cute boy- Ècole nationale de cirque student Thomas Saulgrain doing the best flying I have ever seen, was breathtaking. Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now (not the original, but the older, deeper voiced & older Joni with the London Philharmonic) was the perfect soundtrack for the prairie tribute with young Thomas walking, running, then soaring through fields of gold. He continued with beautiful cartwheels, spins & rolls in the air, over a hologram prairie.
On the floor of the stadium, a landscape of ice virtually broke apart & turned the floor of BC Place into an ocean in which Orcas & salmon swam across to amazing effect. The section combined 2-D reality with 3-D effects to make for a most technologically impressive moment. I thought Canadian born Donald Sutherland’s voice was an inspired choice for the narration.
The real highlight was native k.d. lang, who captivated the arena singing Canadian Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah barefooted, as the audience lit up the stadium. Another openly gay presence was my long time favorite, punk fiddler Ashley MacIsaac (known for wearing nothing under his kilt in concert).
If I could choose to live anywhere in the world, I would pick Vancouver, British Columbia. This city has always astounded me with it’s beauty & it’s international cosmopolitan vibe. The Husband & I have been there many times, in all 4 seasons & I can tell you, Vancouver is all that. The beautiful Canadian Coast Range comes right down into the city. Seattle is beautiful also & has spectacular mountain views, but the Cascades & the Olympics are an hour away from the city. In Vancouver you can actually see the lights of the night skiiers on Grouse Montain from downtown.
I love the vertical glass skyline of the core city. We once stayed in a garden cottage, part of a B&B- Oh, Canada House (the home that the country’s nation anthem was composed in) & there we were in this charming cottage with a fireplace, & we were surrounded by glass skyscrapers on all 4 sides. Discombobulating & thrilling. Another visit found us having cocktails on a top floor revolving restaurant when the entire city experienced a black-out, & we watched as each section of the city turned dark one by one.
Of all our Vancouver visits & adventures, the most meaningful & special was getting married on our 25th anniversary as a couple, on a lovely rooftop with a view of the city as a backdrop. We had each written our own vows & had not disclosed them to each other. At the ceremony, attended by our best men- Ken & Eiric (together as a couple 25 years now), we spoke our vows & we had both chosen to cite the same song lyrics as the basis of our short speeches- My First, My Last, My Everything by Barry White. There was not a dry eye at that wedding. The only thing that could have made that day more perfect would have been to have Joni Mitchell & k.d. lang as our vocalists accompanied by Ashley McIssac on fiddle & to have had a dazzeling acrobat twirling overhead. But, it was a very simple event & not an Olympic Opening Ceremony.
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