Three Clicks to Auspicious Prosperity

Beijing air got tested the good old fashioned way—by the marathon runners. Of all the athletes, everyone agreed that they were the ones most likely to keel over dead from exposure to Carbon Monoxide and small particle pollutants. Marathon runners breathe more times than the normal person, plus they need a ton more oxygen in their cells to keep those legs a-pumping.

Speaking of pollution, the Chinese lucked out. Happy to say, those three number 8’s (8/8/08) conjured up a few clear rays on the Beijing Olympics just like they were supposed to. A midnight storm washed the dirt out of Sunday’s morning air, just in time for the Men’s Marathon. The fact is, Beijing air was clean enough for an Olympic record: Sammy Wansiru of Kenya finished in two hours 6.32 minutes.

Rumors have it that the world record holder Haile Gebrselassie wished he could have been there. The Ethiopian legend withdrew in March because he feared that his lungs might suffer permanent damage and at the time this cast quite a pallor on the competition.

Mengzhi (China Daily Online) was one of the many who commented on Gebrselassie’s decision to boycott their Olympics: China is a free country . Anyone chooses NOT to come or run is going to miss out . China regrets such silly scams but cannot do anything about it . We respect all points of views and stands. Less world beaters , more medals for China . Who is missing out then ?

Not the Chinese divers, they’re going 8 for 8 in the gold medal department: He, Guo, Chen, Wang, Wang, Wu, Xin and Lin. (Yes there are two Wangs.) And I’ll lay odds these Chinese boys and girls are all believers in the power of Ba (8).

I’ll also bet they didn’t have to be pushed off the 10 meter diving platform, either, like little Tom Daley did. Tom, Tom, Mr. Daley’s son is that darling, fourteen-year-old Olympic diver from Great Britain, you know the one that all the little girls are swooning over. “… there will be no serious girlfriends until after the Games,” he says.

Back to pushing little kids off high places: Sad to say, I did use that word, but it’s not mine. According to our informative Olympic host, Bob Costas, most of the divers, including Tom Daley, had to be pushed off that high thirty+foot platform the first 8 or 10 times. And, oh yea, did I mention that they were in tears. Bob Costas went on to say that this practice is not uncommon, but Thomas Finchum, the American diver, didn’t have to be pushed.

Gee, it’s nice to know there are adults all over the world who will push scared little kids off a three-story platform. You just have to be pretty optimistic about their chances, I guess.

Speaking of pessimists, some experts way back when were saying that folks who competed outdoors in the Olympics were gonna die. They obviously didn’t believe in the power of Ba. But I’ll tell you who really believes…Michael Phelps. At this point, folks, he more than believes and so do we. Happy to say, this phenom (soon to be on cereal boxes) walked away with eight golds. Phelps is a god, though. We need help.

So I’ve hatched a plan for the rest of us mortals to attain the luck of the three 8’s. I advise all to return to talesofsendingcards on the eighth day of every month for the remainder of 2008 and click three times to auspicious prosperity while repeating Ba Ba Ba.

Happy 8’s,

Laura signing off.

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