Fielding Questions About Skating

I've been mesmerized by the Olympics for the greater part of these last two weeks. I think I could hum "O Canada," I've heard it so many times.

Lately, people who know of my passion for figure skating have asked me questions about it. "Did Evan Lysacek deserve the gold medal?" someone asked. Yes, he did, because even though he didn't do a quad jump, he did everything well. His Russian adversary completed some sloppy jumps, quad or otherwise. Don't get me started about the quad. While doing a four-revolution jump is a marvelous thing, it shouldn't be done to the detriment of the rest of the program. Skating is not just about jumping. It never has been, and I hope it never will be.

"Why does it seem like skating is so different now?" My answer to that was simple: "the judging system." When skating officials created a new judging system to put an end to judging controversies, they were looking for a way to be fair. What we have now is a method of judging that assigns points to everything a skater does and how well it's done. The problem with this is that it causes skaters to craft their programs to get the maximum points possible. They pack the programs with elements that get rewarded with lots of points and leave out the elements that aren't worth much. This is what has really changed skating, and not for the better. Today's skaters don't perform the spread eagles or Ina Bauers of the past. Instead, these elements are used only as "difficult entries" into jumps and are held for just a couple of seconds.

If you look at old skating programs on youtube, as I just did, you'll see the difference. I watched Brian Boitano's gold medal performance from the 1988 Olympics. In addition to lots of jumps, he did a gorgeous spread eagle that covered a lot of ice. The tv commentator said, "This spread eagle (is) worth the equivalent of any triple jump." Amen, brother, but not anymore. Ditto for Paul Wylie's 1992 Olympic program, which included a fantastic Ina Bauer. These long, sweeping moves are what attracted me to skating.

To be fair, I'll point out a benefit of the current judging system. Since each element is assigned a point value and evaluated, the skaters really get to hone in on what they need to improve. For example, several skaters have improved their jumps after learning that they were downgraded because of taking off on the wrong edge or failing to complete the last rotation of a jump. It's valuable information to have.

Young Skating Talents Headed for Vancouver

In skating, as in many other areas of life, someone is always happy to take your place when you walk away from something. While I feel great admiration for the skaters I've watched for years, I'm excited about the younger talents who are making their mark on the skating world.

Sasha Cohen had been away from competitive skating for four years. She came back to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships to compete again and maybe win a trip to Vancouver. In the words of one of the TV commentators, "This is a very brave thing to do." While Cohen has the best spirals and the best split jumps of anyone competing today, she couldn't rely on those strengths to get the scores needed to win. The many jumps she landed on two feet really put her behind teenagers Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu, who will represent us at the Olympics this month.

Other young skaters I'll be watching compete are in the ice dance category. Charlie Davis and Meryl White beat five-time U.S. champs Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto for the first time ever, claiming the national title last month. Davis and White's long program was enthralling. I'll be rooting for them in Vancouver, even though Belbin and Agosto will be competing there too.

In the pairs category, Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig, along with Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett, will represent our country at the Olympics. Denney and Barrett made a splash at last year's championships in Cleveland. I remember seeing their coach joyfully pounding his fists on the boards. At this year's championships, he was in tears. Like all female pairs skaters, who are routinely lifted over men's heads and thrown distances the length of a small couch, Denney is fearless. Somehow, she seems to have more grit than anybody.

In the men's category, Jeremy Abbott will be worth watching. Now a two-time U.S. champ, he transitions seamlessly from one element to the next. He has the technical skill and the artistry, with no apparent weaknesses.

I don't know how these first-time Olympians will fare against other countries' best, but it sure will be fun to see. Hey, the rest of you have your Super Bowl. This is mine.

Getting Something Down on Paper

A blank page or screen is so liberating and so terrifying. It's so full of lovely possibilities, yet equally open to a bunch of junk thrown down in haste. It doesn't know the difference. The screen will accept either one.

I had just begun reading the much-recommended "bird by bird" (Yes, it kills me to stay true to the title and not capitalize it.) by Anne Lamott when I saw my niece demonstrate the very same writerly struggles Lamott describes. My niece has a story project due -- some 300-plus words. It's daunting for a 7-year-old. Not wanting to let her leave it until the last minute, the adults decided to help her brainstorm.

We sat down with a notebook and started asking questions. Where would her story happen? What characters would be in it? What would they do? I hoped the series of questions would elicit some ideas from her creative, book-devouring little mind. We tried this a couple of times, with one of us taking notes while she spouted ideas between doing headstands and making an imaginary sled out of pillows.

Lamott's advice is, in G-rated language, to write a lousy first draft. Just get something down on the paper. This is what we were trying to do. I think it was successful. My niece might have too many ideas now.

What amused me the most was that on one attempt to pick up the brainstorming process again, my niece, at the very suggestion of it, raced over to the piano to practice. This is classic writerly avoidance. Writers everywhere struggle to block everything out, ignore the need-to-be-done chores or various sources of entertainment and simply write. It's a formidable task, regardless of age or writing experience.

How Am I Doing?

Every retailer seems to be begging consumers to take surveys lately. "Let us know how we are doing," says the receipt. Usually, the promise of a chance at winning something follows the survey request.

It occurred to me the other day that employees are a lot like these stores that want to know how they are doing. Every human being, regardless of company, title or salary level, wants to know that he or she is doing a good job. For some reason, it's easy to forget to tell people that they are doing well.

In this economy, when many companies aren't in a position to give out raises, I think it would be a nice morale boost for lots of employees if their bosses gave them a quick, "Good job."

Good Things About January

In an effort to be positive after the brutal week we've had here in northeast Ohio, I'm making a list of good things about January. Feel free to add to it, especially since I only came up with nine. The late-night comedy hosts have brainwashed us to believe that every list has to be a top 10.

1. Drinking hot chocolate and hot tea
2. Admiring the beauty of individual snowflakes on the windshield (but only at stop lights)
3. Seeing tracks in the snow and wondering which animal made them
4. Wearing cozy sweaters
5. Using the time indoors to catch up on things that got ignored during the holidays
6. Having a snowblower that starts after more than a year in storage
7. Feeling hopeful about the new year
8. Looking forward to the Winter Olympics next month
9. Eating hot soup
I just thought of number 10: after-Christmas clearance sales

An Alternate Route Detoured My Thoughts Too

When bad weather forced us to take an alternate way home today from a belated holiday gathering, we took the non-interstate route. While my steady-handed hubby drove, I looked out the window at my past. One of the counties we drove through was the place where I had worked for several years as a reporter. I could still remember the locations of the police stations, highway patrol buildings and other places I frequented on the job then.

We drove by my old apartment, where the kindly older man who managed the place told me one day that I should get new tires. I saw the farm market and bread store where I shopped. Of course, being young and single, I didn't have the best diet. I have to confess that on more than one occasion, I bought a McDonald's cheeseburger and ate it while driving to an evening meeting I had to cover.

The slow drive was a lot more interesting when I thought about all the places I used to go and what my life was like then. I guess that's the silver lining that came from the otherwise dreary detour.

Big-city Realities on the Way to Work

I'm really a small-town girl at heart, so my commute to the big city has been a bit of an eye-opener for me. I lock my doors before passing through an area that makes me uneasy. I rejoiced when I spied a police station in that area.

The other day, I had to switch lanes because someone was avoiding the snowy sidewalk by walking in the traffic lane. This person was pushing a shopping cart that I would guess contained his or her belongings.

I drive by a business that has a dog patrolling the building after hours. One day, I felt sorry for the dog when it was left out in the pouring rain without any shelter.

But I feel much worse for the unwanted babies whose lives are snuffed out at a building I pass on the way to work. Pro-life protesters outside drew my attention to what happens at that address. I am struck by how many people I know who've tried to have babies. If someone dropped a baby off at any of their doorsteps, those couples would surely accept that baby as their own. And yet there are those who just throw their babies away.