Stick with me here because I have some great stuff to give away further on but first I need your help.Tomorrow morning Mary Lou Retton will be calling my house for an interview. Did you know she's 41 years old now? And married? With four kids? We're practically twins leading parallel lives I tell you!
Except for that gold medal part.
Anyway, I'd love to hear what questions you'd ask if you could be there and I really wish you could be there, first because it would be lovely to have you and also because I wouldn't be nearly as nervous that way.
And on another note . . . thanks to the kindness of Madison Square Garden in New York City I have a family pack of tickets for the Wizard of Oz--live and on stage at the WaMu theater from March 26th-April 5th. Four tickets with a value of $140 to give away to see Dorothy and Toto, tornadoes and, of course, flying monkeys.If there was any way on earth I could be there in New York City to see this I'd be there--oh how the kids would love seeing a live show like this--but if you will be in the area and would like your chance at the tickets simply follow the directions below to enter.
I will randomly choose a winner on Saturday morning February 27th and make the announcement this weekend but if you miss these tickets you can get a 15% discount off your ticket purchase at their promotional site.
There may be no place like home but I bet there's nothing like the Wizard of Oz live in New York.
Here's how to win:
Before 12 am Saturday morning February 27th click here to reach the giveaway entry form then enter your name and email. I will pick one of the names at random, contact the winner via their email and publish the winner's first name and home town in Sunday's post. See the bottom of the entry form for more details.
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Technorati tags: Mary Lou Retton, Wizard of Oz, New York
37 comments:
I have a pop-up book (by Robert Sabuda) of the Wizard of Oz....I read it to my grandchildren..Ages 6and 7..I wasn't sure if they were ready for the movie..Parts are a bit scary..They loved it..
I would be interested to know if she would have the life she led for her kids. In other words, if one of her children showed a talent/desire in a sport or activity that would require the sacrifices that I'm sure she had to make, would she pursue that life/dream? ~:-)
I love Mary Lou Retton! I watched the '84 Olympics at the age of four, and spent the next two years flipping around the house and standing on my head until my parents were finally forced to put me in gymnastics for my own safety.
I competed for a while later, but finally decided I'd rather just be a kid and enjoy being home in the evenings and on weekends.
I would just ask her, I think, how she withstood the constant practice that was required for all those years, and if she ever felt like backing out of the competition as I eventually did.
Oh, and I also want to know if her children are in gymnastics. =)
Oh my goodness! Mary Lou Retton!! I love her! I wish I could think of some clever or thought provoking question. Honestly, the only thing I want to know is how she manages to still look like she is 20 years old! Time travel? Magic potions? :) Have fun with your interview!
Tracey and Babystepper-those were my thoughts too. Becoming a mother sure changes the way you do things and I wonder how she parents based on her celebrity status.
They say she's the most popular sports figure in America. Take that Michael Phelps :)
Ok . . . too cool. You really do interview awesome people. And along the Michael Phelps line, I am wondering what she thinks the responsibility of athletes is to set examples for young people. She is such an icon, and seems to handle it so gracefully. Does she consciously set that example, and if so, how do you instill that value in young athletes in today's society? (or one's children no matter their "fame" level for that matter)
I would wonder what advice she would give to a budding gymnast. My daughter is 9 and is doing okay but what does it really take to be competitive?
I would also wonder if she misses flying through the air like that and how she got over the fear of impact. I get shaky going over a bump skiing much less landing from a flying leap.
Can't wait to see your interview. I know you will do great! You are a gold medalist blog star!
Sarah
Mary Lou was truly my hero...we are about the same age and I fantasized about being an Olympic gymnast often. I'm slowly letting that dream go.
I guess I'm very curious: did anyone help prepare her for life after Olympic gymnastics? For life after achieving so much at such a young age?
Also, did she ever battle an eating disorder because of the high expectations of a world-class gymnast? If not, how did (does) she maintain a healthy attitude toward food?
And please tell her how proud I am of her...she remains one of my favorite people in the world.
(And I wouldn't hate her for publicly scolding Michael Phelps, either.)
Wow. Now that should be an interesting interview. [I'll pass on the ticket opportunity though as trip to NY isn't quite in the budget]
Cheers
I've always wondered which she would choose: her life now or her life THEN. I loved Mary Lou Retton as a kid =)
wow. she was my idol growing up. i was going to be a gymnast because of her. (then i was going to be an astronaut because of the movie "space camp", you know..) but i was on the gymnast track for a while.
anyway, i don't have a question (i can't think of one off hand) but i think that it's SO AWESOME YOU GET TO INTERVIEW HER!
I'm sorry but Mary Lou Retton can't possibly be 41, let alone have kids! In my mind she is forever a young little girl.
That aside, I'd ask her if she feels she missed anything while training and if she would let her kids become gymnasts.
I'd like to know how much of a "toll" her body has taken, as a result of her gymnastics days!
I didn't watch the 84 Olympics - it was the only year I didn't watch. I was a senior in High School and had other things to do! I still regret that I didn't watch. It was such a history making year.
I would like to know what the life of a gymnast is after the competition years are over. Mostly for those that don't get the million dollar Wheaties commercials. Do they tend to go into teaching or coaching gymnastics? Or is it just a phase and once that's over, they go to college and become bankers, entrepreneurs, speakers, and other non sports jobs.
I'm sure the answer is as varied as the people!
Enjoy your interview!
I remember watching Mary Lou Retton as a pixie-faced, tiny bundle-of-energy winning the all round gold medal (among others) at the 1984 Olympics. Many Indians, however, felt that the absence of the graceful Soviet gymnasts diminished the shine of the gold somewhat (India was very pro-USSR in those days). So, maybe, I would ask her how she felt so many years ago when some sections of the international press compared her to the absent Soviet and the Romanian gymnasts.
But I'm sure she has left the past long behind her. It was so nice to read about her in this post.
Why are you interviewing ML Retton? Just curious.
I haven't read other comments so I hope this isn't a repeat. I'm curious to know how her childhood experiences (ie. hours and hours of dedicated training, being in the spotlight, being a household name, etc) have affected her parenting, if they have. Does she consciously do things differently for her own kids? What benefits are there from her past that she appreciates now?
Have fun!
Oh sorry! I guess that would have been helpful for me to mention.
I think Ms. Retton works on many different campaigns with various companies but for this particular interview I believe Tyson chicken is sponsoring it. She'll be speaking from her kitchen but the general topic is relative to parenting--how to help kids navigate the afterschool craze with activities and food and all the chaos that happens at that time of the day.
The PR Firm that arranged this said I'd have coupons for Tyson chicken to offer you all which I expect they'll send after the interview is over and as they'll be sending me a copy of the interview on mp3 I'm hoping to post it as a podcast next week.
OK, both of those things are so awesome they deserve a post of their own. I wish I would be in NYC too. I don't know what ask Mary Lou Retton. I could only tell her that whenever I hear the word Olympics, the image of her on the balance beam in her American flag leotard is always the image that comes to mind. No Olympic moment has ever been more permanently ingrained in my memory. I guess I do have a question: does she still get fan mail after all these years?
I, too, remember watching Mary Lou and being amazed by her. I would like to know if she still has all of that energy after 4 kids. If she does I want to know HOW?!?! Seriously, does she continue to exercise regularly (and what kinds), good diet, etc?
I think she is still an excellent role model!
So, how did you land an interview with Mary Lou? You never cease to amaze me.
I liked Tracey's question. That was going to be mine. But, how about how has gymnastics as a sport changed since she competed?
I love Mary Lou. She was in the 1984 Olympics that were in my hometown when I was 8. I was also a gymnast at the time ... I was constantly doing back handsprings in our back yard driving my mom bonkers. Mary Lou was my idol. My mom faithfully recorded every gymnastics event for me to watch during those Olympics. I still have those VHS tapes and I love to watch them.
I would love to ask her what unexpected benefit she gained from being a gymnast. And I would ask her how she enjoys motherhood.
I also would of course love to know what went through her mind when she scored that perfect 10. Did she know right away what feat she had just accomplished? Did she think her vault deserved that perfect 10? And what does she think of the scoring system now? Should they bring 10's back? Does she like the new scoring system?
And one other thing, what was her relationship like with her coach, Bela Karolyi. Did he inspire her or intimidate her?
OK, that's it ... for now :) !!
What an exciting experience for you!
Does she still wear the Mary Lou do? It was so CUTE!
I love Mary Lou Retton and I always wondered what it was like for her to become a star, she was so cute! I sure would love the tickets to the Wizard of Oz for my son and his family. They would go crazy!
marilynnj *at* mail *dot* com
MY GRAND CHILDREN WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS VERY MUCH
i would love to win this.....
dicych@aol.com
hoky poky love to see it
great prize- we'd love to see it
I love the Wizard of Oz. It's very, very popular. My article on Wizard of Oz Lesson Plans is just about my most visited post from Google searching - lots of great resources out there for teaching with it.
Wizard of Oz Lesson Plans
I would love to take my grand kids to see this show. Thanks
great show to bring our neices
I would love to take my daughter to see this show! She would love it!
I would love to take my youngest of 3 girls to see this
this would be a great show to see~! I love the wizard of OZ!
I would love to see the Wizard of Oz in my hometown
jcoren88@gmail.com
I've never seen a play on stage
The Wizard of Oz is my all time favorite movie ever...I would love to see the play. MaryLou would be great!
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