I may be late in applying for this extraordinary honor, but I have often found in life that the race does not necessarily go to the swiftest . . . but to those that endure. I am 69 years young, a physician practicing in Shanghai for almost three years. My wife and I have found those years to be both exhilarating and frustrating, partly due to our ignorance of both spoken language (difficult to pronounce) and written (looks like something I know if only I could remember what it meant)! Nevertheless, EVERY day brings a surprise, and almost always a pleasant one to remember and to share with the family back home and friends in other foreign places. People are people, and often a genuine smile and friendly chuckle will translate most of your message and earn a warm response. One of our greatest delights has been to discover and savour the vast variety of local customs, dress, foods and natural sights scattered throughout this immense land. So whenever we have had the good fortune and opportunity to travel, we have set a goal to visit all 34 principal localities in the PRC. To date we have been to 24 and have two more scheduled for 2007. For sure we will reach the last eight, and perhaps then go back and revisit the earlier ones just to show the friends we met along the way how much we appreciate their homeland. To be selected as a foreign guest torch bearer is almost too much to hope for. But if I can apply as one of the "senior" applicants in a land that venerates the older generations, I would most certainly not disappoint my contemporaries and perhaps even serve as a role model for the youth here and abroad. My best wishes to all the applicants and on with the Games!
