Mar 19 2009
Rusty Olympics
I felt sort of like I was entering the opening scene of one of the old “Planet of the Apes” movies. The Salt Lake was laid out flat and dull grey in front of me, and there were distant snow-capped mountains sort of hovering on the horizon. The sun was out, and there were lots of people out on the water in their sailboats. It still felt a bit desolate and eerie.
I saw the flagpole near the marina with the concrete cylinder at the bottom, holding the pole and keeping it from falling over. Salt Lake 2002 and the five Olympic rings were imprinted on the concrete base. The flag pole was a bit rusty at the bottom, and the concrete itself showed signs of, well, runny rust and sitting very close to the Lake, which is five times saltier than the ocean. Only little brine shrimp can survive. It was something left over from ages ago, it seems. The Olympics were only seven years ago, but I felt like I was looking at it in the year 2150, or something.
Now, pan the camera out to focus on the crown of the Statue of Liberty, and you have the right idea. The American flag was still flying at the top of the pole, though, so that helped bring me back to the here and now.
