Perfect strangers share unexpected perfect moment

His steel-grey hair was cropped in a crew cut, and his manner was energetic as he indicated different works of art with precise movements. The lady in the flowered blouse and brown pants who stood at his side was his wife. I didn't at first pay much attention to them because, as a language professor, I was fascinated by the beautiful Mandarin characters on the scroll he was displaying.

I didn't realize then that this inconspicuous Chinese couple would play the lead roles in a very special memory of this Olympic summer.

The day was lovely. I savored my orange Popsicle as I wandered along a white-stucco wall, noticing plants and Chinese architectural details.