It is finally snowing in Idaho as I write this note! In the meantime, I have played a bit of golf and settled for living my winter sports vicariously. I love the winter Olympics. Not just the sports you would expect – seldom seen contests like luge, slopestyle boarding, half pipe, skating and yes, curling. I have watched with interest as the first mixed doubles curling teams compete for gold. There is a lot more to the game than I realized. The stone is a “a geometrical masterpiece of tooled geology”. The best stones come from Ailsa Craig. This 245 acre volcanic plug still defies the weather and elements to stand 1100 feet tall. Located 11 miles from Girvan off the West Coast of Scotland, it seems fitting that the entomology is likely Anglican, meaning “fairy rock.”
The island has been owned by the Marquees of Ailsa since 1560. Good Opportunity as it listed for sale. The exclusive rights to mine the granite have been held by Kay of Scotland since 1851. The island is igneous, micro granite rock with blue hone as the hardest and most desirable variety. Harvest a boulder, cut it into rounds, and polish it to a perfect surface weighing 44 pounds. There is one other quarry that can supply an acceptable quality of granite. Obviously fairy sourced granite is the ideal. Make a perfectly matched set of 16 stones, add skill and practice, and you can consistently get the right weight and curl needed to compete on the 150 foot long ice pebbled surface. The brooming smooths out the ice pebbles a bit to speed up and turn the stone. The center of the target is the button – maybe the source of that “spot on phrase”.
That is plenty of detail. Best if you root for Canada, they seem to be the best at this sport. I hope you saw Chloe Kim the 17 year old half pipe phenom as well as slopestyle gold medalists Jamie Anderson and Red Gerard. Shaun White won his third Gold. Mikaela Shiffrin is off to a potentially record Olympics with a Gold. Impressive performances for the winners and each participant. The pressure is intense – imagine Jessie Owens in the 1936 Olympics in Germany, four gold medals and a standing ovation from many in the crowd. Owen’s said, “the only victory that counts is the one over yourself.” “Find the good. It is all around you. Find it, showcase it and you’ll start believing in it.” In the spirit of the Games “awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.”
Mikaela is highlighted in a recent Time article. The meteoric rise and consistent success comes with a high price. Mikaela wrote a note to herself “Value love, not triumph. Remember moments, not victories. Count memories not medals.” Now that is impressive!!
Enjoy the spirit of the Olympics, Mike