The balance beam.

Thanks to the advent of Twitter, I can now follow my childhood hero, former Olympic gymnast Kim Zmeskal. Boy, when I was a little kid I loved gymnastics. Did I have any shot at becoming an Olympian? No, but that didn't keep my little heart from dreaming. I thought Kim Zmeskal was so cool, so cool in fact, that I can't name another gymnast from the early 1990s. Did I care that she didn't win the gold all-around at the Olympics in 1992? Not at all.

By the time Kerri Strug hobbled (pun intended) onto the individual medal scene at the 1996 Olympics I was already over gymnastics. What can I say, childhood passions can be fleeting. I quit when I moved to New Jersey right around middle school. I probably thought it was suitable punishment for my parents, ha.

I started thinking about gymnastics earlier today, remembering the time I fell off the balance beam (my least favorite event) and I skinned the length of my arm. So in homage to my old love for gymnastics, and well, falling down, I'll let Tom Waits sing about it.

Oh, and Kim Zmeskal, if you end up reading this, thanks for the inspiration as a kid.