Dateline: Winter, 1980; Idaho Falls, ID.
Bruce was in the middle of a plant shutdown. Working for Westinghouse at the Naval Reactors Facility and the A1W prototype for the USS Enterprise was in a scheduled maintenance period. He and his engineers were at the site providing technical support.
Two thousand four hundred miles away at Lake Placid, NY, the 1980 Winter Olympics were in full swing. Watching the Olympic Games on TV was not an option for Bruce and his engineers. However, missing them was not that big a deal …. at first that is. Yet, something magical was happening on the ice. Frustrated they couldn’t see or hear it, they were disappointed. The US Hockey team was advancing and in the second to the final game. They were up against the Russian team. Back in Idaho, the engineers were secluded in the middle of the desert with no TV or radio!
As the game progressed, the isolated engineers got a few phone updates from family or friends and that increased their frustration. Then Bruce had an idea. He asked Katie to drape the phone over the TV and place it on the speaker. Out at the site, Bruce put the TV’s play-by-play on the speaker phone and they were able to cheer with the rest of the nation as they listened to the “Miracle on Ice,” 4-3 victory over the Russian team!
While traveling to our next project in ME, we were able to spend a few days at Lake Placid and visit some of the 1980 Olympic venues. Although 40+ years later, we still remember with USA pride the victory of our US Hockey team. Now, as we travel on down the road, please pray for safety on the final 500+ mile leg of our journey. 🤠🤗
This week’s Blessings, Prayer Requests, and Schedule are here.
