Letter to The Guardian Re: Olympic Torch Relay

On a chilly December 18th evening the Olympic flame warmed the hearts of many of us as it made its way through streets of Brampton. An event for most, will undoubtedly be a once in a lifetime experience and should make us all proud to be Canadian as we play host to the rest of the world.

  I am certainly proud to be Canadian, proud to be a resident of Brampton but most of all proud to have had a firsthand experience in this historic event.

I had the pleasure that evening to attend the downtown event and later have dinner with a friend Shannon Denny whose employer, Coca-Cola Bottling Company played a huge part in making the event very successful.

 During dinner, a father with his family and friends overheard our conversation of how Shannon in four days on December 22nd would be carrying the torch in Brantford. After a brief conversation between our tables a young girl’s mother asked if her daughter could have Shannon’s autograph. Shannon quietly spoke to the young girl explaining that she wasn’t really anyone famous the young girl replied “you are to me, you are carrying the Olympic torch.

A few days later on December 22nd, my daughter and I made our way down to Brantford to watch Shannon carry the torch. As we waited with her and her family (who came in from Ottawa) at checkpoint 013, a chill ran down my spine as local families asked to have their pictures taken with Shannon. These people had no idea, who or where Shannon was from only that she was a part of their history, in their town.

It was at that moment I was not only proud to be Canadian but was amazed how a single flame could touch a young girls heart, how it could bring perfect strangers from different cities and a nation closer together.

So to Shannon and all the other torch bearers across our Country, thank you as you have touched the hearts of many and have emplaced a memory that will last a lifetime

Doug Whillans