Struck By "Lightening!"

I would not be a Jamaican worth my salt if I did not take time out to bask in Usain Bolt’s, or “Lightening's” as he is more favorably known ah yard, glory. The feat was phenomenal. He not only broke his own record but he did it while slowing down to celebrate. One can only imagine what the record would have been had he gone for broke straight through the finish line. Then there is the fact that never before had anyone broken the world record while winning the gold in the 100 meter sprint final, at the Olympics. The commentator even mentioned that before “Lightening” struck, it was thought to be impossible to smash the record and win Olympian gold in the 100 at the same time. Oh Well!!!

“Lightening” struck in other places too. For instance, here in the north east I was not able to watch Olympic coverage of that race until way down in the night, somewhere after eleven o’clock. Now I know that the race was telecast in Jamaica at 9:30 am, 8:30 am our time, so I wonder if when “Lightening” stuck he inadvertently disabled all the fancy rebroadcast equipment that NBC has and therefore caused a more than thirteen hour delay in telecasting the event. I know the delay was not due to the fact that Tyson Gay did not qualify for the race and there was only a bronze medal win for the other American participating. Bronze in a field of champions is great too but surely other accomplishments deserved and received more attention than a mere third place finish.

Among his peers in the race, some looked as if they had been struck by “Lightening” even before they started. My heart went out to fellow Jamaican participant, Asafa Powell. Deep in his eyes Asafa looked as if he had surrendered to not winning the race even before it had began, while Usain just knew he was going to win.

In Jamaica, the tumultuous gun violence that has shrouded some areas of the country for years stopped while the race was being run! Yes, it has been said that even the intrepid shotta of lore paused his misdeeds to watch “Lightening” strike. This being said, if true, places one man, Usain “Lightening” Bolt in the annals of history, able to do what countless political regimes, church caucuses and foreign government brokered peace initiatives have failed at doing, bringing a momentary ceasefire to the madness. Maybe the gods on Mount Olympus are missing their messenger. Is it just coincidence that our champion is Bolt in golden shoes and not Mercury in winged sandals? Check out his Olympic winning pose; you can either be the Judge or be struck by Lightening. Selah.