Editor:
Feb. 4, Day 98 of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, was for me, a day filled with excitement, joy, honour, awe, wonder, laughter and happiness.
I loved every moment of it - the superb relay support staff; the shared excitement of my fellow torchbearers; the stories on the bus on how we each came to carry the torch; the enthusiastic welcome by family, friends and community assembled at the Pender Harbour Secondary School; the singing of a rousing version of O Canada.
Lighting my torch from the Olympic flame and carrying the torch filled me with awe and honour. My hope was that in some small way I was helping reinforce a sense of tolerance, unity and peace.
I thought too of my beloved late twin sister, Dawn. She was in my heart, and her picture was in my pocket.
It is a modern-day marvel that family and friends around the world could watch as I carried the torch - so many thoughts, so much history, so many people. And yet, too, it was insular - just me and the torch.
The telling of my story falls vastly short of the experience of the day, but the memories and emotions will last forever.
Daphne Pay
Halfmoon Bay
