<p>And I hope that he starts to think about larger issues than having his own half-pipe. He’s a terrific athlete. That only means he’s a terrific athlete. I was around pro athletes for a number of years. There was little to no correlation between the quality of the athlete and the quality of the person. Some of the bigger stars were two-faced swine and some were great.</p>
<p>Shaun White is a nice guy.</p>
<p>Apolo Ono seems like a sweetie too-<br>
My kids were also born at end of May, his DOB is just a couple days before my oldest was born- but didn’t see his parents at the hospital, not many women go to UMC unless they have to- I had to share a bathroom at a time when other hospitals were offering steak dinners for new parents. :p</p>
<p>He seems as happy and laid back as my oldest does- maybe it was the moon?
( he tweets * way more* than she does however- but his are more topical- hers are kinda random)</p>
<p><a href=“Apolo Ohno Has a Single Father Behind His Success - ABC News”>http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/ESPNSports/story?id=2090015&page=1</a></p>
<p>emeraldkity4, Did you get a chance to listen to Apolo’s Dad talk about raising his son? During one of various Olympic interviews, his Dad discussed how difficult it was to keep his son on track. He said that his son was very stubborn and unfocused. There came a point where he dropped his son off in a cabin and left him there alone because he felt that his son needed the isolation to look within himself and figure out what he wanted to do with his life.
Thank goodness he had a father who didn’t give up on him and repeatedly tugged and pulled him back onto the right path in life.</p>
<p>PS–no steak dinner for me either.</p>
<p>I’m worried about the Netherlands bobsled team that withdrew. The driver (and his brother) made the decision to simply not compete because they were afraid of the track. The coach is furious. Can you imagine getting all the way to the Olympics and then not competing because you are afraid? Don’t get me wrong. I TOTALLY get it. With the death of the luge competitor… The Netherlands driver said he didn’t feel he could handle the sled on that track and he simply wasn’t going to risk his safety and that of his teammates. Will he regret this for the rest of his life?</p>
<p>I can see why the coach would be P’oed. However, while you anticipate some risk in a competition like that- it seems that for that particular course the risk is much more than what would be reasonably expected- and while I am not competitive athletically- so perhaps I am understating it, ( although at times…) there are other dreams beside achieving your longtime goal of competing in the Olympics.</p>
<p>Like maybe living long enough to put that in perspective and work toward other goals.
Like World Peace?
;)</p>
<p>*meraldkity4, Did you get a chance to listen to Apolo’s Dad talk about raising his son? *</p>
<p>Thanks for the link- I hadn’t seen that- I remember his salon very well though ( I used to do hair also in the early 80’s).
Apolo sounds like he was quite a handful- his dad did a great job.With the hours you put in as a business owner , especially something customer service oriented like a hair salon, that couldn’t have been easy to do.</p>
<p>^^^Ironically, it’s probably some of the same qualities which made him so difficult which have contributed to his success.</p>
<p>no steak dinner here either just a million iron pills. They started that (steak dinners) and those beautiful labor/delivery rooms after mine. I, too, think Apolo Ono is pretty neat. I actually think he’s more interesting now than when he was younger. There’s definitely a more mature attitude this Olympics both with his personality, his interviews…those things we the average public get to view. Enjoyed watching him immensely. I chuckled at the dad’s interview… yup, yup, yup we have a whole slew of parents who can give testament to raising boys.</p>
<p>
Yes, maybe when he grows up he can work for world peace and half-pipes for everyone.</p>
<p>He can campaign on a platform of “a half-pipe in every backyard”!</p>
<p>wow… have u ever meet shaun white. I have and he was very nice. The only reson he has a private halfpipe is because it was a gift from Tony Hawlk and he did it for saftey resons. Since he is pretty much a celeb when he goes to public park people watch him and one time one kid cut across the halfpipe and shaun whites friend was there and was riding the halfpipe and he avoided the kid but broke his ankle. I know that saying he is a jerk is your opinion but i am trying to make a point.</p>
<p>I would like to put the construction of Shaun White’s half pipe in the mountains near Silverton, CO in perspective. That area was already environmentally degraded by the mining. Mining began in that area in the 1800’s and ended (I think) in the 1950s. Water flowing through the tailings from the tunnels and the processing areas is dangerously polluted. It is loaded with heavy metals and many creeks cannot sustain any life. They are dead zones. The Silverton area is riddled with thousands of abandoned mines and the United States Geological Survey does not have any real answers as to how to clean the water up. And the point is that this destruction of the environment occurred before we, as a nation really understood the impacts of this type of mining and it occurred before Shaun was even born.</p>
<p>In addition, the Bureau of Land Management has allowed motorized vehicles in those mountains. The mountains are criss-crossed with roads for Jeeps, Suburbans, motorcycles, ATVs, you name it. The San Juan mountains around Silverton are a regular freeway system.
This has been going on way before Shaun White was a twinkle in his Daddy’s eye.</p>
<p>There are also lots of private land holdings within the BLM boundaries in the San Juans. So there is lots of cabin construction going on near Shaun’s half-pipe. When my husband and I were back-packing in the mountains above Silverton (and trying hard not to get run over by Jeeps), we saw helicopters going back and forth in mountains carrying construction materials. It turns out it was BLM helicopters!! The BLM was building a cabin/restroom area for ATVers to park their vehicles and camp!</p>