MEDAL

I don't know why the end result Olympic medal count is such a big deal to us, but honestly, it is.  It does something up my spine when I'm sitting there watching the American athletes race to the finish line against their competitors and touch the wall of the pool - or the line on the track - or nail the landing - first and best.

So we were extremely proud of our athletes this week as we watched the U.S. athletes top the medal count among all the nations of the world.  We lived vicariously through them for 16 days.

And it didn't matter how you shook it -- gold medals, silver medals, total medals - we were first.  Here are the results of the winningest countries by gold:

Nation               Gold     Silver     Bronze     Total
U.S.                     46          29             29          104
China                   38          27             22            87
Great Britain        29          17             19            65
Russia                  24          25             33            82
Korea                   13           8               7             28
Germany              11          19             14            44
France                  11          11             12            34
Italy                        8            9             11            28
Hungary                 8            4               5            17

'I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.  I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.'  --- Abraham Lincoln

'How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy.'  --- Thomas Jefferson

My patriotic heart beats red, white and blue.  Celebrate.

And be blessed.