This evening I joined the Chinese folks congregating together outside the Bird's Nest and Water Cube to watch the Closing Ceremonies.
Olympics sentinels stood in every nook and cranny. The Olympics volunteers took orders from the police. Their job was to deny entry to all roads leading to the Olympic stadiums.
Chinese soldiers looked sharp and attentive to remind us who was boss. With one glance, they curtly turned all of us no-Olympics-access-folks away from the paths to the Olympics Green. The pubescent beanpoles in green uniforms marched drills, squeezed together in alleys, and held onto stools (later to squat on them while staying in line formation). They held onto stern grimaces.
In spite of the crowd control function of the street, I did manage to squirm my way through to an area with a view of the Bird's Nest. I crowded with Chinese folks at their residential community southwest of the Olympic stadiums. The end of the lane gave a partially obstructed view of the skies above the Bird's Nest.
We braved the mosquitoes for the fireworks. A ninety year old reclined in the back of a scooter cart. Climbers mounted a wall to have a better look of the TV monitor on the skyscraper. A Chinese elderly couple listened to the ceremony on their radio. Parents held their children on their shoulders. Everyone pulled out their cellphones and cameras to photograph the fireworks. A cool breeze saved us from the heat.
The Closing Ceremonies included the appearance of the red double decker bus, British pop star singer, and Beckham kicking the soccer ball into the crowd. That's a wrap of Beijing Olympics, now pass the flame to London.
