147/365 08/08/08 and start of the Olympics

I've always admired Olympians. The amount of discipline, patience and dedication that it takes to become that good at something -- in addition to the fantastic physical ability -- never ceases to amaze me.

It's for that reason that I really look forward to watching the Olympics every two years. And this year, I actually get to root for someone close to home.

One of the female gymnasts, Bridget Sloan, is the sister of a guy in my high school class. I did a lot of the same extracurricular activities that he did, and I also knew another of his sisters through Junior Miss. We come from a small high school in rural Indiana that sometimes produces good football teams, but never an athlete on the Olympic scale.

Signs are posted all over the community. You can see the ones pictured below in front yards, and in front of the schools, plus several local companies have their own signs by the road.I'm really looking forward to cheering her on, along with all of the other great American athletes.

Go USA!

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD1000 at about 7:30 a.m.