OLYMPIC SILVER

Watching the Olympics last night, (like everyone) I was disappointed that McKayla Maroney did not get the gold.  Sure she fell, but after doing her first vault perfectly a few days before and getting mysterious deductions that she didn't deserve, I felt sure she was going to do it perfectly this time.  (I know, I know, she didn't fall on the super hard Amanar vault, but I thought she might get a perfect score on it).  She did not look too pleased about that silver.

But, if the gold didn't go to the USA, I was kinda glad to see it go to Romania.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe I just don't like Russia.  Maybe I don't understand gymnastics. Or maybe I feel like Romania is a country that has not much else going for it.  (By now I should have offended all kinds of people, but since no one reads this, I'm not too worried).  I mean the only other thing Romania really has is a really old castle where some crazy guy used to live and some people think maybe even some kind of monster was there.

Now it has occurred to me that Romania sounds a lot like the Trona in our book, Pitch Green.  (Berk wants to call the book Toxic Green.  The publisher says we should stick with Pitch Green.  I just want people to read it.)  Romania sounds like Trona, only on a country scale.  Or maybe Trona sounds like a small, pitiful Romania.  (They could merge and call themselves Tromania.)  I don't know who should be more offended: Romanians or Tronaians.  (Again, see readership comment above; not too worried.)

Either way, some day I would like to go to Romania and see Dracula's castle.  And, maybe some day our book will be translated into Romanian, so the people there can read about Trona.  I'm sure the people that live in both places think each place is wonderful.  And I'm sure in many ways both places are wonderful, though I have never been to Romania.  But Bram Stoker thought Romania was a great place to start his horror novel, and we feel the same about Trona.

The Romanians don't seem too angry with Stoker about his book.  Perhaps the Tronaians will not be angry about ours. 

Well, I don't know anymore where this is going.  I'll just end by wishing condolences to McKayla and congratulations to the whole freaking country of Romania.  (Trona, your time is coming!)