Today's Face of America

Lopez Lomong carries the flag of the United States during the opening

ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (AP)

If you plan on watching even the slightest bit of the Olympics, tune in this evening and watch Lopez Lamong bearing the flag of his adopted country.

BEIJING — On the finest night of his latest life, the new American carried his flag into the splendor.

The acrobats were done now, and the performance art was complete. But the glistening lights were brighter than anything he had ever seen, and the world was watching, and his heart was racing at a speed that even his feet have never experienced.

Lopez Lomong was a part of the Olympics.

Not only that, but the Lost Boy was leading the way.

Who could have imagined it? Lomong, the most unlikely Olympian of them all, walked into the Bird's Nest Stadium on Friday night, leading the athletes of the United States into the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

It has taken Lomong so many footsteps, and so many incarnations, to make it here. He was the kid who was ripped from his mother's arms, the kid who grew up hungry in a refugee camp, the kid who once gazed upon his own grave. He was born in Sudan, raised in Kenya and adopted by the United States.

And now, he was here, on this night of wonder, a human symbol in the most symbolic of all ceremonies.

Read the rest.

Lamong's story is truly inspiring. I recently saw him on a riveting segment of HBO's Real Sports, and would recommend you viewing it if possible.

I doubt Lamong thinks America is a mean country.

For photos of the opening ceremony, go here.