white house invitation

 On September 17th, Team USA paraded into Beijing's Bird’s Nest. 

At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, 547 athletes from 62 countries competed in 141 medal events. 

All the countries assembled, and we watched more stunning performances that created magnificent scenes with thousands of performers, young and old. As the Closing Ceremony ended, athletes danced with performers on the stadium floor, and Beth found herself blue eyes to bellybuttons with pink cows. 

The cow costumes caused visual problems for the wearers. 

“After Closing Ceremonies,” Beth wrote, “at least a hundred of these cows stormed the floor of the stadium. They kept running into us and running away. They would also begin to deflate, so volunteers would run up and herd them off the track to get blown back up. My teammates and I were literally crying we were laughing so hard.” 

Back home, the U.S. Paralympics team joined Michael Phelps and the other Olympians to meet President George W. Bush at the White House. 

​Beth shook the President’s hand and smiled for the pictures. Later, athletes congregated at the hotel lounge. Flirting with Olympians on the men’s swim team marked the official end of Beth’s four-year plan and the Beijing experience. 
​
Real world adventures in Beth’s future would be equally exciting. 

Next: October's Serendipity Newsletter!