OXNARD — Dr. Chuck Wall was afraid he would make a fool out of himself. Chosen to carry the Olympic torch in the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay, he feared that due to his blindness, he may trip and fall.
“The fact that I am blind will cause some added difficulties for me which I am a little nervous about because I would like to jog, I don’t want to just walk,” the 61-year-old professor said before the relay began on Jan. 16. “I am concerned that I don’t make a fool of myself and fall on my face or drop the torch, or embarrass Bakersfield College. So I am doing my best to keep in mind that I will have to be focused on what I am doing or I will cause a disaster.”
Wall’s concerns were unfounded. When it came time for the BC business professor to carry the torch, he jogged, carrying the torch his stretch of pavement with the help of Diane Ochoa of Bakersfield, who served as Wall’s support runner.
“I consider (blindness) as more of a nuisance,” he said. “It hasn’t stopped me from doing anything. If you’re going to succeed, you can’t let things like that get in your way. I do what I want in spite of it.”
The torch is one of the most recognized symbols of the Olympic games. The flame signifies the “endeavor for perfection and the struggle for victory,” as well as “peace among peoples,” according to the Olympic Web site.
“I am pretty excited,” Wall said before he carried the torch. “This is a really neat experience. I am nervous, I have given speeches all over the world, I’ve been on 350 television shows and if I weren’t nervous, I would say there is something really wrong with me.”
Before the run, Wall and all other runners were shuttled to their respective locations on the route.
“It was so inspiring to meet the other runners,” he said.
The Olympic torch traditionally has been lit in Olympia, Greece, and transported by runners around the world to the Olympics. It will arrive in Salt Lake City, Utah, today.
The torch tradition began in 1936 as a copy of the ancient torch ritual in Greece more than 3,000 years ago.
Wall was nominated to carry the torch by his close friend Darlene Stewart for his work on the Random Acts of Kindness movement. Stewart went with Wall to the run.
“I heard advertisements to nominate someone who has inspired you and someone who has overcome difficulties, and the Lord just put him in my mind and I just went the rest of the way with it,” she said. “(He has inspired me) by all of his good deeds, by the things he has done.”
Wall said the ability to carry the torch is another example of the importance of kindness.
“I don’t think the Random Act of Kindness movement is over. I think carrying the torch is an indication of its importance to us as a human being on this planet,” he said. “We need to spend far more time thinking about the four elements that make up kindness: respect, dignity, compassion and humility. This Olympic torch will bring that concept up once more. Hopefully, it will stay as a prominent feature in our lives.”
When Stewart nominated Wall, she did not tell him. He received a letter informing him he would not be selected to carry the torch. He was surprised he was even nominated.
“I said, ‘My gosh, I don’t have to be selected, just being nominated is enough.’ ”
Wall, who has taught at BC for 17 years, said he was proud to represent BC.
“I don’t know that anybody from BC has ever carried the Olympic torch, so I think there is a certain amount of pride that the institution is involved,” he said.
All runners were given the opportunity to purchase the torch they carried in the relay. Wall bought his torch for $335 and he said it is something that he will “cherish for a long time.”
Each torch is 32 inches high and about three and a half pounds. It is made of aluminum reeds, a hardwood handle and gold-plated brass bands.
“It’s a beautiful torch,” he said. “This is an experience not many people have. At the moment I am carrying that torch, no one else in the world can touch it. This is a pretty awesome experience.”