Paris, Day 4

We get another late start this morning, but we feel rested.  It’s opening ceremony day of the Olympics in here in Paris.  We have our coffee and get ready for the day before heading out.  Our Pass Jeux arrived via email yesterday and as soon as we are on the streets today, before we can move about, we are asked by the police to show them, as well as our passports. The Pass Jeux has a QR code that is scanned by the police.  Before the end of the day, we show it to the police at three different checkpoints.

We start with lunch at our favorite café, just around the corner from our hotel, La Brasserie Italienne. The host and our server both recognize us from two days before and we enjoy greetings with them.

Our server is originally from Los Angeles.  She moved with her family to Spain, but after five years, they missed the states and moved back to Boston, she told us.  She came back to Paris to study fashion and marketing.  She is independent and thriving.   

Our host went out to the street to talk to the police to find out what their plan is.  From my vantage point, the conversation looks relaxed and friendly.  Everyone, tourists and locals alike, is surprised at the amount of police and military activity.  We know this is a response to safety during this world event, but it truly is what I imagine a war zone to be.  The only difference, to me, is that these men and women mostly have relaxed looks on their faces.  They are carrying arms but don’t look like they are anxious to use them.

We head toward the center of town toward a park where one of the many large screens has been placed in order to view the opening ceremony in a public place.  By the time we reach the park, the rain is coming down steady.  There are booths set up for games.  There are several ping pong tables and music is playing.  Hundreds of people are gathered here, and many are already sitting out in the grassy area in front  of the big screen.  The ceremony will not begin for several hours.  We decide this may not be the best idea.  

As we leave the park, I notice a beautiful older lady, very poised and elegant.  She graciously allows me to take her picture.  Her family is with her and they are comfortable and unphased by my request.

We decide to look for a restaurant or a bar in hopes that there will be a television inside so that we can view the ceremony in comfort.  We learn that in most places, there are no TVs.  As we are searching, we come across another beautiful woman of experience.  She, too, allows me to photograph her and poses confidently in the streets of Paris. I am feeling warm inside and very connected to the people around me. 

We stop for a beverage and watch the sights around us.  The ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m. in France and we have time to get back to our hotel in hopes of watching there.  On our walk back, we encounter a third beauty.  She is young, however, and eight months pregnant.  She told me that her due date is August 20^th but that her doctor told her to be ready early.  This is her second baby.  I am delighted to share conversation with her.  She is shy, but she, too, agrees to let me take her picture.  I thank her and tell her that she is glowing and beautiful.

We get back to our hotel just as the ceremony is starting.  We go up to our room to drop off our belongings and freshen just a bit.  We then come down to a small lounge in our hotel.  It’s a garden room that was added on with a white translucent roof and windows all around.  There are two young men there ahead of us, sharing a bottle of wine and watching the ceremony.  They tell us, “Welcome! Come join us!”  Wonderful!  We find a place to settle in, and we, too, open a bottle of wine to enjoy.  We learn that their names are Peter and Ben and they are from Hungary.

After a short time, two more young men arrive.  They live in L.A. and tell me that one of them is in film and the other is a musician, specifically, a pianist.  About 30 minutes after their arrival, their parents join us in the lounge and by now, we are all laughing and sharing with each other, and we are fully engaged in the ceremony.  It’s pouring down rain both here and at the site of the ceremony.  We have the sliding glass door wide open to fully enjoy the sound of the rain coming down, and we can smell the earth as it is becoming saturated.  We marvel at the performers who seem undaunted by the downpour, yet we can see the rain splash on the ground and on their costumes throughout their time on stage.

The last to join our group is a young couple and their son who looks to be about 9 years old.  They have just come in out of the rain and our group all heartily invites them to take the last seats in the lounge.  They seem relieved and happily move a couple of seats to better see the television, put down their belongings and get comfortable with us.  They tell us they are Kurdish and live in north Iraq. 

Shawn and I grew up in leadership during our careers at St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, California.  The Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange were very influential in our development, and of the development of the many leaders we worked with.  We were in healthcare but there was a spiritual thread woven throughout all of our learnings.  During that period of time, we learned the concept of a Sacred Moment.  In truth, it is recognized that all moments are sacred, but every once in a while, a moment occurs that is most noticeably sacred.  Such moments have an impact on everyone present.  Today, each of my three encounters with the women I was able to photograph felt sacred to me.  There was an indescribable energy that prompted the connection and the moments to follow were meaningful and memorable.

Tonight, our group takes note of the fact that we were all brought together in some meaningful way.  We all fully belong to each other and to this time we are spending together.  The purpose is only to be together and to share this Parisian Olympic experience.  We capture the moment in the last photograph of the day. I am grateful.