In today’s digital age, it is easy to follow the progress of something as public as the Queen’s Commonwealth Games Baton procession, which snaked its way through Aberdeenshire on Sunday and is due in Aberdeen on Monday.
You can track it visually on various devices, but the thrill of being there is something else.
You could see that on the faces of those privileged to carry the baton and well wishers cheering them on from the roadside.
When the P&J spoke to people who made the effort to be part of it, the same phrases kept being repeated: “a chance of a lifetime” or “a chance to be involved”.
People greeted the baton just as enthusiastically as they did when the London Olympics torch did something similar in the north and north-east.
It’s a piece of history in the making and it is also something to feel involved in, especially if you cannot make it to Glasgow to see the games in the flesh.
You could tell people had a sense of the occasion, especially during periodic stops when relatives posed proudly for photographs with baton carriers.
The importance of the occasion should also rub off on all the many children brought along by their parents, and older teens who also turned out in force.
It makes us think about what is important about the games, and life for that matter. It fosters a feeling of togetherness, for a start,
But they also show how competition can be fierce, but friendly, and how sportsmanship and fair play are still important – especially with weird or shocking incidents happening on other fields of play, such as the World Cup finals and a certain Uruguayan gentleman.