The Winter Olympics are under way in Turin, and once again, my diary and archives remind me of another Olympic observance 12 years ago this month, when I was working as a journalist in Sarajevo.
I've put a few photos of that experience in My Photos if you'd care to browse.
Here's an article I did in February, 1994, as the Winter Games opened in Lillehammer.

Anniversary of Olympic games gloomy reminder for Sarajevo
 (By josephnotjoe)

 SARAJEVO - There was nervous tension in the air ten years ago today when the 14th Winter Olympic games opened in Sarajevo, but today the nervousness is rooted in fear of mortar shells and snipers.
 Sarajevo, the fourth most populous city in the former Yugoslavia was an exuberant place in 1984, being the first Eastern European city to host the winter games.
 Today, Olympic Village, built to house athletes, is a bullet-riddled, dilapidated collection of apartments on the front-line.
 Most of the buildings have been reduced to rubble.
 Veteran United Press International sports writer Morley Myers recalls the heady atmosphere of the city 10 years ago.
 'It's probably the last time Olympic games were held in a city which took joy in hosting the event for its own sake, rather than making political or commercial mileage out of it,' Myers said.
 In recent days, local radio stations have been playing "Reach for the Medal", a danceable, inspirational song of the era.
 In light of the worsening situation, some of the lyrics are unsettling:
 "Now's the time to take hold of your dream;
 You're standing on the edge of history..."
 In 1984, the city was touted by media worldwide as being an example of a successful multi-cultural city.
 Now the city echoes night and day to machine-gun fire between two cultures: the predominantly Muslim Bosnians and Bosnian Serbs, who want half the city for themselves.
 The Olympic site itself bears ugly testament to the siege - Olympic Village is on Bosnian government-held territory, while much of the competition area is controlled by Bosnian Serbs.
 Zetra, the arena for ice hockey, speed and figure skating where East Germany's Katarina Witt wooed millions was shelled and burned in September 1992.
 It's difficult to imagine Zetra's blackened skeleton was home to an Olympic first: Britain's Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean's ice dance scored an unprecedented string of perfect 6.0s from the judges.
 Izudin Filipovic, secretary-general of the Olympic Committee of Bosnia-Herzegovina, recalled 1984 when he was editor-in-chief of a local newspaper.
 "It was like a nice dream," he said with a faraway look. "I remember a cosmopolitan city where you could meet people from every part of the world.
 "For a while, Sarajevo was the center of the world, and we expected the dream to continue."
 Across the no-man's land dividing the complex, ski facilities on Mt. Jahorina in Bosnian Serb territory are believed to be in relatively good condition.
 It was there American Bill Johnson surprised everyone in the downhill event, winning gold with a time of 1:45.59. American brothers Phillip and Steven Mahre provided another surprise: finishing first and second respectively in the men's slalom.
 Sarajevans immediately develop a wistful look when they recall 1984.
 "When it was confirmed in Athens we got the games in 1980, we were all mad with happiness," said Svetlana Mitic, 30. "So our celebration really began then."
 Mitic, who worked as an English translator at a hotel, remembered a panic that swept the city on the eve of the games: no snow.
 "Everybody thought 'Oh my God, what are we going to do?'' she said. "Then overnight on the mountains we had more than 1.5 meters of snow - so much the army had to come in to pack it down.
 "It was almost magic."
 A glum Filipovic estimates restoring just the facilities on Bosnian territory will cost at least $110 million.
 He said he received some promises from "friendly" Olympic committees from other countries to help rebuild, but couldn't imagine when the project would begin.
 'We know other cities like Innsbruck are likely to bid again to host the games - maybe one day we can,' he said.
 Mitic is not as optimistic.
 "I wish it could happen again, but I'm afraid it can't."