Here is the first picture taken of me after receiving the flame.
Carrying the Olympic Torch is an honor bestowed upon athletes, community heroes and celebrities. I, of course, am neither of these. I did however get to carry the torch with many local heroes, celebrities like Vanah White, Robert Zemekis, Dan Marino and the final bearer, Mohammed Ali. I was nervous, scared I'd drop it, or the flame would go out, or trip, but none of these things happened. Instead, I got off the bus, and a Torch Official got on the loud speaker and yelled, "Who's here for Denise......?!" and many people cheered, half of which I've never seen before or since. I ran off the bus to their applause, torch in hand, and posed for pictures. Five minutes or so passed, and I heard the hum of many vehicles. I looked down the street and saw the flashing lights of the entourage. There were 20 or so police cars, motor cycles, Official trucks, and armed guards...in the midst of the crowd, I saw the lone bearer and the bright flame from his torch. A guard motioned me forward to the middle of the street. My hands began to shake, and as corny as it sounds, I did get a tear in my eye. I approached and leaned my torch forward, then shook his hand, posed for the cameras and began my three block walk.
Here I shake the bearers hand, notice the tall man next to me in a
Torch Runner uniform, he was my escort.
The torch only weighed I believe 3 and a half pounds, and close to 5 pounds fully armed with gas. Five pounds isn't very heavy, but since we had to carry it over head, it got very heavy...two blocks into it, I was ready for it to end. And with that, I spotted the next bearer, awaiting me...
