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Dara Torres brings medals, Olympic stories to Palm Beach Day Academy


Thursday, January 15, 2009

Robie Mendoza was beside himself after his encounter with five-time Olympic swimmer Dara Torres on Thursday morning at Palm Beach Day Academy's Seaview Campus.

"It was awesome," the ninth-grader said. "It was amazing."

Robie, 15, said he even kissed the silver medal Torres brought to show the children. It was one of three she won in Beijing at age 41.

In previous Games, she's scooped up nine medals, including four gold.

Torres began swimming as a child and won her first gold at 17.

Considered almost ancient by Olympic athletic standards, Torres did the unthinkable and got back into the Games after grueling competition and training that allowed her to represent the United States in the 2008 Olympics.

Prospective sponsors of her fifth Olympic quest raised doubts about her age.

"All it did was make me want to do it more," Torres said during her appearance at the school's Vicki and Peter Halmos Family Activity Center.

The mother of a 2-year-old daughter, Torres easily related to the children gathered around her on the gymnasium floor during her 50-minute presentation.

She described the Olympic Village — home to athletes from around the world during their two-week stay.

With international cuisine within reach, she told the kids she usually chose American fast food for its familiarity.

"I found myself gravitating toward McDonald's," she said.

But that wasn't a problem, because her training regimen and its high caloric burn allow her to eat pretty much whatever she wants, usually opting for protein and vegetables.

"If I want dessert, I'll have dessert," she added.

Torres also told students she still gets a severe case of "butterflies in the stomach" before competition, comparing it to what they might feel before a big test.

"It's about 10 times worse," she said.

The big question of the morning was whether she knew another American Olympic hero — Michael Phelps.

The answer, of course, was "yes."

She also answered the unasked question.

"Yes, he's very handsome," she said.

Torres said she meant the assessment from a "motherly point of view."

As U.S. Olympic athletes, they have trained together, she explained.

She met Phelps when he was 15 and she was 33.

"He still calls me Mom," she said of their latest Olympic journey.

Torres' appearance at the Palm Beach Day Academy was a family affair, since she has three brothers who attended the private school and six nieces and nephews now enrolled.

"She's part of our school community," said Karen O'Donnell, head of the lower school at the Seaview Campus.

Torres has worked as a television commentator and has had stints as a print model, being the first athlete to appear in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in 1984.

"I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up," she said.

Head of School Rebecca van der Bogert said Thursday's assembly was a great opportunity for the children, as she noted the athlete's sculpted swimmer's physique.

"My 20 minutes on the bicycle this morning just evaporated," she said.

Crowds pack frigid Mall for Obama's inauguration

Crowds pack frigid Mall for Obama's inauguration

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WASHINGTON – Braving frigid temperatures, an exuberant crowd of hundreds of thousands packed the National Mall on Tuesday to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as America's first black president. He grasps the reins of power in a high-noon ceremony amid grave economic worries and high expectations.

It was the first change of administrations since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Crowds filled the National Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol for a glimpse of the proceedings and, in the words of many, simply "to be here."

Two years after beginning his improbable quest as a little-known, first-term Illinois senator with a foreign-sounding name, Obama moves into the Oval Office as the nation's fourth youngest president, at 47, and the first African-American, a barrier-breaking achievement believed impossible by generations of minorities.

Around the world, Obama's election electrified millions with the hope that America will be more embracing, more open to change.

The dawn of the new Democratic era — with Obama allies in charge of both houses of Congress — ends eight years of Republican control of the White House by George W. Bush. He leaves Washington as one of the nation's most unpopular and divisive presidents, the architect of two unfinished wars and the man in charge at a time of economic calamity that swept away many Americans' jobs, savings and homes.

Bush — following tradition — left a note for Obama in the top drawer of his desk in the Oval Office.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the theme of the message — which Bush wrote on Monday — was similar to what he has said since election night: that Obama is about to begin a "fabulous new chapter" in the United States, and that he wishes him well.

The unfinished business of the Bush administration thrusts an enormous burden onto the new administration, though polls show Americans are confident Obama is on track to succeed. He has cautioned that improvements will take time and that things will get worse before they get better.

Culminating four days of celebration, the nation's 56th inauguration day began for Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden with a traditional morning worship service at St. John's Episcopal Church, across Lafayette Park from the White House. Bells pealed from the historic church's tower as Obama and his wife, Michelle, arrived five minutes behind schedule.

The festivities won't end until well after midnight, with dancing and partying at 10 inaugural balls.

By custom, Obama and his wife were invited to the White House for coffee with Bush and his wife, Laura, followed by a shared ride in a sleek, heavily armored Cadillac limousine to the U.S. Capitol for the transfer of power, an event flashed around the world in television and radio broadcasts, podcasts and Internet streaming. On Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney pulled a muscle in his back, leaving him in a wheelchair for the inauguration.

Just before noon, Obama steps forward on the West Front of the Capitol to lay his left hand on the same Bible that President Abraham Lincoln used at his first inauguration in 1861. The 35-word oath of office, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, has been uttered by every president since George Washington. Obama was one of 22 Democratic senators to vote against Roberts' confirmation to the Supreme Court in 2005.

The son of a Kansas-born mother and Kenya-born father, Obama decided to use his full name in the swearing-in ceremony.

The Constitution says the clock — not the pomp, ceremony and oaths — signals the transfer of the office from the old president to the new one.

The 20th Amendment to the Constitution specifies that the terms of office of the president and vice president "shall end at noon on the 20th day of January ... and the terms of their successors shall then begin."

To the dismay of liberals, Obama invited conservative evangelical pastor Rick Warren — an opponent of gay rights — to give the inaugural invocation.

About a dozen members of Obama's Cabinet and top appointees — including Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton — were ready for Senate confirmation Tuesday, provided no objections were raised.

More than 10,000 people from all 50 states — including bands and military units — were assembled to follow Obama and Biden from the Capitol on the 1.5-mile inaugural parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue, concluding at a bulletproof reviewing stand in front of the White House. Security was unprecedented. Most bridges into Washington and about 3.5 square miles of downtown were closed.

Obama's inauguration represents a time of renewal and optimism for a nation gripped by fear and anxiety. Stark numbers tell the story of an economic debacle unrivaled since the 1930s:

_Eleven million people have lost their jobs, pushing the unemployment rate to 7.2 percent, a 16-year high.

_One in 10 U.S. homeowners is delinquent on mortgage payments or in arrears.

_The Dow Jones industrial average fell by 33.8 percent in 2008, the worst decline since 1931, and stocks lost $10 trillion in value between October 2007 and November 2008.

Obama and congressional Democrats are working on an $825 billion economic recovery bill that would provide an enormous infusion of public spending and tax cuts. Obama also will have at his disposal the remaining $350 billion in the federal financial bailout fund. His goal is to save or create 3 million jobs and put banks back in the job of lending to customers.

In an appeal for bipartisanship, Obama honored defeated Republican presidential rival John McCain at a dinner Monday night. "There are few Americans who understand this need for common purpose and common effort better than John McCain," Obama said.

Young and untested, Obama is a man of enormous confidence and electrifying oratorical skills. Hopes for Obama are extremely high, suggesting that Americans are willing to give him a long honeymoon to strengthen the economy and lift the financial gloom.

On Wednesday, his first working day in office, Obama is expected to redeem his campaign promise to begin the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq under a 16-month timetable. Aides said he would summon the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Oval Office and order that the pullout commence.