A few words on Shen and Zhao.
I’m not an athlete, but I do love the Olympics. I can relate to those men and women, to their defiant optimism, faith, and passion.
This year Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo absolutely stole my heart. If you haven’t seen them yet, let me introduce you:
Their choice of music for the short program, “Who Wants to Live Forever,” tells their story. Here are the lyrics to this song, in prose:
…What is this thing that builds our dreams, yet slips away from us? Who wants to live forever? There’s no chance for us. Its all decided for us: this world has only one sweet moment set aside for us. Who wants to live forever? Who dares to love forever—when love must die?
But touch my tears with your lips, touch my world with your fingertips. And we can have forever. And we can love forever. Forever is our today. Who wants to live forever? Forever is our today.
Who waits forever anyway?
And what did this pair of soul mates decide, once they achieved the dream they’ve chased for eighteen years? To go home and have a baby. I hope that someday I’ll love someone that much.
Who wants to live forever? Who needs to live forever, when you can do so much with the time you have?