Excelsior, Sydney!

September 17, 2000: Opening Ceremony (Olympic Games)



What a finale for the opening ceremony of the Olympics, what an amazing spectacle! Magnificent! Awe inspiring! Humanity exalted!

The final image with the flame burning magnificently above the stadium shall remain impregnated in my consciousness forever, its indelible and inspirational message inextricably intertwined with my existence. Here is the way I interpreted the symbolism immersed in that momentous image:

A kaleidoscopic runway into the heavens, a spaceship carrying the torch of goodwill ready to depart our planet; its mission: to irrigate the cosmos with humanity's message of togetherness and fraternity...

Of course that’s a romantic idealization of our nature and our humble place in the grand, universal, scheme of things, but, for a brief instant, I held that image in my mind as if it were a reality and not a fictitious illusion.

Yes, it is only an illusion, an oasis of hope deeply buried among humanity's obvious deficiencies, but it’s a glimpse into a plausible, hopefully not to distant future, where humans have learned to live peacefully not only among themselves but among our close neighbors in space and beyond...