Thank you, Thank you, London!

"Brilliant"; "Unexpectedly Spectacular"; "London Rocks"; "Our Finest Hour!"; 

"We Did It Right!"

These are some of the headlines from the London newspapers describing the last 16 days here in England.  The Olympics have exceeded most Brits  expectations and they are deservedly pleased and proud of their city, their athletes, the volunteers, and the fans.  

Thank you, Thank you, London for a fabulous Olympics!

Francie and Steve Hoffmire came for a wonderful visit and to enjoy the games.

Kate and Peter came too and were able to join us for the last day -- the men's volleyball gold medal games.  

What a treat to have these two staying with us for a week. 

Men's Gold Medal Game: Brasil vs. Russia.  Brasil won the first two game and almost won the third game.  But the Russian team hung in there and won the third, fourth and then fifth game.  

Sad to see the games end.  So proud of London and Team GB! 

My favorite Olympic athlete of these games:  Guor Marial. As a child born in war-torn Sudan, he saw 28 of his family members killed, including eight of his 10 siblings. He was beaten, enslaved and only escaped by running, literally, to his freedom.

Now immigrated to America but not yet a citizen, he competed here in the marathon, only not for Sudan. He refused that. A new nation, South Sudan, has been formed, but it had no Olympic committee. So Marial was allowed to come under the IOC flag – to compete as a citizen of the world and force the rest of us to remember the mountains some have to overcome just to have a chance.

"The Olympics," Marial said, "reminds you of a world which has nothing to do with killing each other. It is about a world of living peacefully."