THANK GOODNESS FOR SOCHI!

This is the exception to my “shorter” blog posts.  Somehow, this hit me as something worth the time, so here it is.....:  Personally, I’m now glad the Olympics are in Sochi, Russia, because it drives home a lesson.  When my book first came out, I caught some flack from a critic that thought I was a little too hard on Russians in my book.  She opined that I was being a little too American, as opposed to being a “globalist” in my views in the story.  When the news broke the other day on CNN about the accommodations in Russia, I couldn’t help but smile and feel just a little vindicated in my alleged “jingoism.”  It isn’t that we’re without fault, problems, or issues of all sizes and shapes, it is just that many don’t realize how the “globe” isn’t in great shape either.  Granted, the last time I was actually in that particular neighborhood, we still had things like the “Iron Curtain” and “Checkpoint Charlie.”  Still, this critic had me thinking that perhaps I was being a little too harsh on our “friends.”  Especially now with the “new and improved” Russian Federation, as opposed to the stark old “USSR.”  Thank goodness for Sochi. ~Michael S. Pauley