Gone to the Dogs

The military helicopter has been noisily circling the hotel for 15 minutes now as the sun is going down.

Yet, strangely enough, I don't feel any alarm. Maybe it's because the jet lag seems to have dissipated and my circadian clock has been reset.

The Black Sea is calm and serene.

Security has been stepped up a bit. Mean looking dudes are manning the checkpoints. I got the full body search twice today. And my favorite phrase from the Commie Days is back . . "Eeeez not possible" is in the lexicon again. Places you could walk yesterday are forbidden today

We did have our big security briefing today at the compound. The two highlights were - Do not go into the town of Sochi and do not befriend any stray dogs. That may sound a bit odd . . . don't visit the "host city". . . but NBC is serious about this. It's OK to ride the new train up to the Mountain venues. I actually may try that soon.

As for the dogs, they are ubiquitous around here. The streets in our little neighborhood are full of homeless pooches. Just today a few pups moved into our TV compound and are trying to make friends. They do like to hang near the catering tent. They just look at you with sad eyes looking for some attention.

Around here the dogs are not wanted. Stories circulate that they are biting little children. They are classified as a menace to society. Just yesterday the municipal government hired a company to round up and exterminate the strays. A stray interrupted an Opening Ceremony rehearsal last week and the organizers went nuts. One guy was quoted as saying "God forbid something like this happens at the actual Opening Ceremony. This will be a disgrace for the whole country."

I guess the killing of hundreds of dogs wouldn't be! As an aside, how did these dogs get through security anyway?

Tonight, probably due to the international outcry, a Sochi Olympic organizing committee member announced that the dogs are being "relocated" and not killed. The eyes of the world are shining bright light on the Motherland.

Update: Now there are 3 choppers circling.

Today was actually a day to get some TV business underway. The truck is set up and we got some pictures from inside the venue. The athletes have arrived and practice is in full swing. Stories are beginning to emerge and a production plan is underway. It was good fun to run into some Russian skate friends who I have known for almost 20 years. Alexei Mishin, who coaches Yevgeny Plushenko is feeling the burden and pressure of trying to bring home a Gold Medal in the team figure skating event. He has coached Plushenko since the skater was 11 years old. Plushenko is now 31. He was the 2006 Olympic Gold Medalist as well as 2002 and 2010 Silver Medalist (He lost to Evan Lysacek in Vancouver). He has become the Russian poster boy for Glory to the Motherland . . . . at least until the hockey team takes the ice in Week 2. He's had knee surgery, two back surgeries for herniated discs and was once barred from international skating because of appearing in unauthorized ice shows. He's creating a frenzy in the Russian media. It's his fourth Olympics. He is an icon who is defying the odds. He was our "sympathetic" villain in 2010. He's our hero in 2014.

As I write we are about 48 hours away from the first skater.

The choppers have gone. It's warm outside and all I hear is the distant sound of the sea. Is this a Winter Olympics?