COLUMN: Vactaion: fun and family all rolled into one
I must say, right up front, that I think I had the best Olympic Break of anyone I have talked to. And I didn’t even stay around for the Olympics.
That’s right, while all of you were freezing your tails off, I was basking in the sun in Florida. I had my own queen-sized bed (a privilege I don’t even enjoy at my parent’s home), and my family of six shared a private hot tub and swimming pool.
On top of that, we spent much of our time at the happiest place on earth, Disney World. I love Disney. Everything seems so magical.
But I have a huge confession to make, even though we were about as far away as we could get from the Olympics, we still watched Sarah Hughes’s gold medal performance and Jim Shea’s skeleton gold. I was proud of the 34 medals won by our country. And, I was embarrassed for Bob Costas when he made his comments.
There were some other ways in which the Olympics touched me. For example, any passengers flying in and out of Salt Lake City were simply not allowed to get up 30 minutes before arriving or departing the airport. There was a guy who was arrested for breaking this rule. They were serious on that one.
On the plane trip to Florida, I sat by a guy who is very high up in his company and was chosen to run the torch in Missouri. He also was able to obtain a number of tickets to the Olympics. When I talked to him, he was returning to Missouri.
It was fun to get an outsider’s perspective. He had a blast in Utah, he said. And, he loved watching the events. He said the staff was very friendly and the social life was fun. I thought his comments were a big compliment to our state and its people.
I think my mom also got into the Olympic spirit. She decided that since she and dad were our “sponsors” (paying for our trip), we would have to wear their gear. That’s right, my mom, who is an elementary school teacher, had a plan.
On the Friday night before I left, she brought out six bright yellow T-shirts and six royal blue T-shirts. Then, she proceeded to have my friend and I iron transfers onto the shirts.
Let me paint the picture for you. The yellow shirts had our favorite Disney character in the upper left corner. And, plastered across the back of each shirt in BIG BOLD BLUE letters was written:
Hegsted Family
Florida Vacation
February 2002
I tell you what, we were stylin’. My 16-year-old brother especially loved dressing just like his sisters and having my mom tell him what to wear every morning.
And everyone noticed us. We received more comments then you would ever believe. Everyone knew we were together; we were like one big yellow (or blue) amoeba going through the crowds.
There was another Olympic event my dad participated in (although he forgot this was the WINTER Olympics and decided to go for a summer sport I guess). He is an exercise nut and decided to take a swim in the pool one morning. Well, I think he must have forgotten that one end of the pool is only three-feet deep and he submarined under the water, only to come up with the skin in the middle of his face missing. Yes, he barked his face on the bottom of the swimming pool.
Danielle Hegsted is News Editor at the Utah Statesman. Comments can be sent to elleinad2727@hotmail.com