My Dad and his Olympic friends

My dad had the most incredible oppurtunity the last couple of days and that was to fly the Men's and Women's US Gymnastics Team to Chicago for the Oprah show which will air on Monday the 8th at 400 pm. So below is what he experienced but my mom is telling the story. ( I didn't want to rewrite it)

The US Men's and Women's Olympic Team - Beijing 2008!





Nastia and Robin on the flight deck. (see the medals???)


Shawn riding in the over-head luggage bin.


Robin's new Olympic Crew!


Nastia - Robin - Kristi - John

What an opportunity Robin had. They picked up the team Tuesday night in Reno, and after a couple of hours in flight, the flight attendant came to the flight deck and informed them that the Olympic crew were enjoying themselves and she had pictures of them in the overhead bins. They wanted to see if they would fit (they were obviously having a great time).

Robin was able to go in the back and they seemed to think they were going to get in trouble when they say the man in uniform coming, but really all he wanted to do was meet them and tell them how proud we were of their accomplishments and that we had cheered them on from the comfort of the couch. They seemed surprised that he knew their names and had taken interest in watching their performances. Hearing that, they offered to allow another photo shoot, making sure he was "in the picture." After the photos were taken, Johnathon Horton, declared that he was now a celebrity (he just felt honored to have had the opportunity to be in their presence).

They all wanted to sit in the flight deck and have their pictures taken, but Robin had to regrettably inform them that it couldn't be done (thanks to Osama), but that he would make the time for them to do it the next day before they left Chicago. Everyone took him up on it and they all had the opportunity to sit at the controls and "play" like they were flying. This also provided another photo shoot and it was at this time that Nastia took out her medals and shared them. Robin kicked himself that he didn't have his uniform hat with him, because he thought about a pose where they could trade the hat for the medals in a picture (darn). He said the medals were "pretty fancy."

He had the time to talk to a few of the gymnasts individually (Raj Bhavsar and Nastia Liukin) about their experiences in Beijing; being Olympic athletes, and what it takes to realize the dream and the payoff of so many years of hard work and perseverance. He was particularly interested in the story of Raj Bhavsar. This was his second Olympic games where he ended up as an alternate (didn't make the team for a second time, 8 years), only to be called up after the team got to Beijing because one of the team members had to pull out due to an injury. It is a story of faith, hope, and courage in the face of hard work, and so many let downs. Raj says he has returned to his faith and this experience will help better prepare him for life after gymnastics.

By the time they arrived back in Reno, the team and the flight crew were good friends and hugs and high fives were shared by all. Robin commented that in 27 years of flying and racking up experiences, this was probably the most memorable, at least its the one that he can remember right now (his forgetter is getting better).