Singapore is maybe the cleanest place I’ve ever been.  Chewing gum is not even allowed.  Seeing it from our balloon tether a hundred meters off the ground was spectacular.  The clear sky and clean city with the ocean and Malaysia in the distance created a picture I won’t soon forget. 

My return to Beijing was surprising, but the blue skies I found there I must have brought with me from Singapore, because they didn’t last long.  The denser, air returned on my second day back and progressively worsened until yesterday when rain cleared the air somewhat. 

Tomorrow is the day (tonight your time).  I’m surprisingly tranquil and ready to go.  It will begin tonight at 7:30PM CDT in the USA.  Wish me and Team USA luck!   [Written the day before the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Modern Pentathlon competition.]

 Official Site of the Beijing Games

http://en.beijing2008.cn/

Yahoo photo of Team USA in the opening ceremony — follow this link:

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/slideshow/ss.63#photoViewer=urn%3Anewsml%3Asports.yahoo%2Cgetty%3A20050301%3Aoly%2Cphoto%2Cebc88e6d1b9201f01c00db50bd5a2193-getty-81972990cc157_olympics_open%3A1

http://www.pentathlon.org/fileadmin/download/Invitations/DCAS_final080731.xls

Note that there are multiple worksheets in the workbook, the first is the Men’s Schedule, the second is the Women’s Schedule, if you can read the last two, then let me know what they mean; my guess is they’re Chinese for, ‘Men’s Schedule’, and ‘Women’s Schedule’.