I arrived in London today for a three night visit. Very excited about the theatre, but it is hot! Better to be here at 90 degrees than in Paris at 94, I suppose. The temperature drops tomorrow, so we just need to get through today. It’s too darn hot! And I’m seeing the matinee tomorrow.

The Olympics ended with a bang for me! On Friday I went to the women’s basketball semi-final – USA vs Australia. And yesterday was the final game – France vs USA. As I said before, I figured it was a win/win and I wouldn’t care who got the gold. Boy was I wrong. From the moment I sat down, I was Team USA all the way. This game was so exciting and I found myself wringing my hands so hard, I thought I would brake my fingers.

Added to the excitement of the game itself, I was sitting feet from LeBron James, fresh off his Olympic gold medal. My seat was on the aisle, and it was a little irritating that people thought it was OK to stand in the aisle, block our view and try to get an autograph. Finally, the women sitting in front of me asked security to step in and ask them to go back to their seats so we could all enjoy the game. I did have to laugh at the guy who was pushing his eight year old forward to get his jersey signed for him. Didn’t work.

Not sure how I lucked out with my seats for both games. The semi-final, I was three rows behind the USA team, which was fun to see during time outs, and the final was two rows back from the floor. With or without the great seats, it was the one of the most memorable events in my life. So glad I booked tickets as soon as they went on sale. That and I paid for them.

In the evening, I went to my friend Hari’s to watch the closing ceremony. Just like the opening ceremony, the best part was seeing the athletes enter. Then the entertainment began. Boy am I old. I just kept asking, who are these people? Hari is younger, and even he had to look it up on his phone. Snoop Dogg was about it for me. I have never been a Tom Cruise fan but I thought that entrance was a snooze fest. Not to mention that he is showing his age (finally). I kept thinking, there’s something wrong. Why is he tugging at his leg? Why is he coming down so slowly? Granted, it’s not something that I would do, but I’m not making the money he is (and nobody asked me). And at the opposite end, Celine Dion in that dress. In the rain. With that song. And that voice. That was something to behold. And no wires.

One last gripe, if I may. Snoop Dogg. I heard some complaints on social media – what does he have to do with sports? LA doesn’t need to come up with a mascot for 2028 – he is the best cheerleader LA and the USA could have. Such joy and more importantly, he was all about bringing the attention back to the athletes. I’ll stop now.