So Katy and I were going to Jo Ann’s and I went down Kimball Bridge Road and turned left on North Point and all could see was backed up traffic and flashing lights. I thought there must have been one heck of a wreck. Then we went a little further as the three lanes of traffic were being funneled into the far left lane and I saw people in red shirts and a vehicle that said Alpharetta Public Safety Vehicle so I thought it must be a walk-a-thon with an escort.
Then I passed a small SUV with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on it. That’s when I really started wondering. Then I passed up the group of people and saw a torch with the Olympic rings on it. So by now I’m really wondering. So I got ahead of the parade and pulled into the Chuck E. Cheese parking lot and went out to the sidewalk where a few people were standing. That was where I found out it was the torch relay for Special Olympics, which is being held in Los Angeles this summer. All I had to take photos with was that cheapo dumb phone of mine. I got a couple and we got in the car and went down a parallel street and caught up to them. I rolled down the window so Katy could take a couple of photos and there was a bigger crowd cheering and the public safety officer said “let’s make some noise!” and since I had the window down and could hear her I started honking my horn and she gave me a thumbs up. No one else caught on, though.
So we parked at Ruby Tuesday where that leg was ending and got a couple of more photos. I had no idea this was going on. Everyone out there was connected to the Special Olympics in some way and what looked liked few media photographers. If there’d been any advance notice I’m sure many more people would have come to cheer them on. It was all quite exciting.
This is from the Special Olympics website:
On Thursday, 14 May the Special Olympics Flame of Hope for the Special Olympics World Games Los Angeles 2015, was lit during a formal torch lighting ceremony at the Sacred Site of Pnyx, opposite the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The Flame of Hope begins its trans-Atlantic journey via UPS Airlines, which will transport the flame to Washington, D.C. in time for the start of the Special Olympics Unified Relay Across America, presented by Bank of America, which will kick off on 26 May. At the conclusion of the Unified Relay, the Flame of Hope will be handed over to the 2015 Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Final Leg Team where they will travel for 13 days to more than 120 cities and towns throughout California, honoring the spirit of the Special Olympics global movement and delivering a message of hope to communities where people with intellectual disabilities continue to fight for acceptance and inclusion.
