In the NBC special on the Hawaii Ironman, one competitor was a military guy who lost a leg in action.
Near the end of the show, they showed the climax of his ordeal with a scene of him crossing the finish line. It was about 11 pm at night. The man had been racing, with an artificial leg, since dawn. A large crowd of people stood, in drizzling rain, at the finish-line, which was lit up like a beacon in the night.
The man crossed the finished line triumphantly and wept. He went over to his family on the sideline. One woman had a garbage bag over her. As the man went to her first, it was clearly his wife. I noticed that she didn't embrace him but rather stiltingly leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
I swore at the TV. I couldn't believe she wasn't more jubiliant -- this guy had served his country, suffered greatly, and then pulls off an Ironman. "Can't you hug the guy, you cold-hearted...... ??"
Then someone else gingerly lifted the garbage bag from her. She held up a 12-month-old baby for her hero to kiss. She had been standing out there for hours, protecting the little triathlete from the rain.
I teared up. LOL. My apologies to her. That's a tough family.
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