It was February, 1998, and the Winter Olympics were on in Nagano, Japan. My mom was hospitalized in Edmonton, 200 Kms from home, so I took my dad up to be with her. We visited during the day and would go to our hotel room for the nights. We would leave the TV on and napped, waking up to watch the fully televised curling games during the night and early morning hours. We cheered for our teams, and felt such pride and joy when the Mike Harris and Sandra Schmirler teams won their medals. This was a special time for me being able to spend that time with my dad, as life was busy and I didn’t live that close to my parents. What I didn’t realize at the time was that it was a gift I was given – my dad passed away suddenly 3 months later. On the other side of the world, those teams had such an impact on Canada and the whole world, but especially to me. I remember that time so clearly, even 25 years later.