Atlanta Olympics

Whenever the Olympics is held, the grand opening ceremonies always unveil the unique identity of each occasion and seem to last forever in people's minds. The splendid opening ceremonies of the Seoul and the Barcelona Olympics will not fade from our memories.

But to be frank, I had not even the slightest expectation that the grand opening of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics would become the greatest Olympic show ever.

As a spectator watching television, I must admit that the long awaited world sporting event, with its fantastic and marvelous displays, far surpassed the preceding Olympics in terms of its astounding surprises.

I was so worried when I saw the greatest world boxing heavyweight champion, Mohammad Ali, who is reported to suffer Parkinson's disease, with his left hand trembling while holding the Olympic torch in his right. I just imagined the roars of dismay that would have risen from the spectators should the greatest boxing legend have collapsed on the stage while holding the torch. Thank God, Ali succeeded to light the moving flame that ran swiftly to alight the Olympic cauldron; the greatest feature of the opening ceremony.

A big applause rose from the spectators, and on television we even saw President Clinton clapping and smiling happily, and seemingly shedding tears of delight and gratitude. I cannot help but salute Billy Payne, Chairman of the Atlanta Olympics Committee, for putting on, in my opinion, an unparalleled show in terms of wonder and surprise in the history of Olympic opening ceremonies.

But, as soon as the show was over, CNN again returned to the news of the TWA-800 tragedy, in which 230 passengers lost their lives. Although speculation on the cause of the disaster was avoided at the time, the possibility of a bomb explosion was strongly surmised.

The grieving families gathered on the beach and held mournful prayers for their beloved daughters, sons, spouses and the high school students and their chaperons.

It is regretful that the greatest show in Olympic history was preceded by the tragedy of the TWA-800 crash off Long Island. This shows that in spite of the occasional marvels that occur, the oddities in human life, in terms of world-wide contradiction, still persist.

SAM SUHAEDI

Jakarta