July 14, 2008
Good Evening Everyone,
As I have said before I send out these e-mails to update you all on how things are going with my travels, training, and life. My e-mails includes the highs and lows of what is going on in my world, the majority of the time things are going pretty good but sometimes there is a little bit of bad mixed in as well.
I arrived in Colorado last week on July 3rd in order to train at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs. On the Fourth of July I went sailing for the first time with my team mate Katie, her mom, and some of her friends. Katie's mother use to race sail boats for a club out in Colorado and she shared her knowledge with us. I learned about tacking, jibing, how to adjust the reef on the boat and etc.
The atmosphere here at the OTC is great!!! It is a campus style set up dedicated strictly to Olympic Sports! I am entrenched in the Olympic spirit everywhere I turn, you can not escape the positive vibe that exists here and I am loving every minute of it! Each sport has its own area or building dedicated for that specific discipline to train in.
Their are two weight rooms here, one weight room is designed specifically for the heavy Olympic weight lifters and another that all of the other athletes use. Both weight rooms have mounted video cameras and screens called "The Olympic Eye On Performance" that are used to record to us while we are training. The Olympic Eye cameras are set for a 30-45 second delay which allows a coach to critique our performance as it occurs, thereby making it easier for us to make needed adjustments.
Also, throughout the different buildings you have quotes from past and present Olympians which truly help to inspire, and keeps you focused on the goal and reason we are here! There is so much I can talk about but that would make for a really long e-mail, that is why I have posted pictures under the "Media" section under "Colorado Pictures" on my web page http://www.jessebeckom3.com/ so please have a look.
On the other side, this past Friday I received some truly tragic news. I found out that one of my younger cousin's who was a good man, a friend, and a person that I love (Robert White age 26) was shot and killed while he was sitting in a car, in a residential neighborhood back home in Chicago. Bobby had come back home to Chicago and was hanging out with a friend who he should have cut off a long time ago. He was unaware that this friend had gotten into an argument with a guy earlier that week, that same guy saw my cousin Bobby and his friend sitting in a car, and came after my cousin's friend and in the process shot and killed my cousin. The police know who the shooter is and hopefully they find him soon. It hurts more than I can express in words and I wish I could have done anything to stop it from happening but there is nothing I can do. I ask that all you pray for Robert's Grand Parents,Parents, his brother, his son, and the rest of my family.
There are many wars going on in our world and some of the biggest ones are here in our own country. Growing up in Chicago I have seen numerous friends shot and or killed and it still continues in many cities across America. The senseless violence in our streets needs to come to an end! We as individuals need to do more to counteract the violence and hate that exists in our society. We need to set better examples that show that this lack of respect for life and other crimes are not acceptable! There are more of us in this country who are doing good and helping others for us to be held hostage by those who feed of fear and intimidation. We can change our world through small and large examples and it is essential that we do!
God Bless you all!
Jesse
