The 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada, begin in less than 3 weeks. The above mittens my daughter received recently from our friends in Vancouver, the Wassermans, whom we met in Stockholm, Sweden, when we lived at the Wenner Gren Centre, a housing complex for 150 families from across the globe, who are engaged in research. Dr. Wasserman was conducting research at the Karolinska Institute, the renowned medical research facility, whereas my husband and I were based at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). The Wassermans also visited us when we lived in Innsbruck, Austria, when I was on my first Fulbright.
Although we won't (regrettably) be traveling to the Olympics (either as spectators or athletes) there is a local story to this international athletic competition.
Amazingly, there are busses that will be used for transporting the athletes at the Olympic games that are from our area in Massachusetts. The Greenfield Recorder is reporting that the Kuzmeskus Bus company of Gill, Massachusetts, will be providing 6 bus drivers and 3 busses to shuttle the Olympians! The company is owned by the Kuzmeskus family. Their grandson, Trevor, was a classmate of my daughter's at the Bement School and I recall how the first school birthday party that she attended was at the bus garage for Trevor's 6th birthday.
Appropriately, Trevor is a hockey player and my daughter is a figure skater (when she is not engaged in other sports and pursuits).
There is, however, not only a transportation connection between our area and the Olympics. Jon Quick, a former star hockey goalie at UMass Amherst, has been selected to the US Olympic hockey team.
With the US figure skating national competition now completed in Spokane, Washington, the various US Olympic skating teams (men's, women's, pairs, and dance) have also now been identified.
We wish all the athletes, as well as their coaches, family members, friends, and the organizers of these Olympics exquisite competition and experiences!
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