It takes stones of granite

The Olympics are the pinnacle of sport, and the men and women who compete in them are practically gods, at least for the 14 days every 4 years that the world comes together to cheer in the name of sportmanship, unity, and national pride. Depending on the country, some sports mean a little bit more than others. To the Norwegians, cross country skiing is everything. The Danish live and die by speed skating. Figure skating is considered a marquee event for many countries. But whatever the country, there is one event that stands above all others in terms of prestige, honor, and athletic ability and whose participants are revered above all even by their fellow Olympians. This sport...is curling.

Having observed this crowning competition of human achievement, I decided that it is my duty as an extraordinary member of the human race to take up the sport for the honor of my country. The first step towards the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver is going to the local Dallas/Fort Worth Curling Club. And so I did.

I dragged my sister who was visiting from Boston for the weekend to go with me (it does, after all, make perfect sense to travel from Boston to Texas to learn a winter sport). It was actually a lot of fun, and I signed up on the "I want to join the curling club" list. Let's face it, there is not greater glory than being victorious in curling. And as people watching the Olympics or who have seen stuff about the provocative women of curling calendar available (http://www.thecurlingnews.com/calendar.html), curling chicks are hot.

I did pretty well at this open house, although I didn't get as much chance to try it out and practice as I would have hoped. The club expected about 100 people, and over 300 showed up. But I did well. I think my bowling background served me well. I am just very good at throwing a heavy object down a lane with the goal of scoring points.