People often recall where they were when memorable public events happened - Pearl Harbor, the day Kennedy was shot and Sept. 11 are on many lists.

For Rosemarie Rossetti, a Gahanna motivational speaker and frequent Gahanna News columnist, another day will be added to that list, with a decidedly most pleasurable memory attached.

Starting at 4:55 p.m. this afternoon, Rosemarie will carry the Olympic torch 342 yards along High Street near 17th Avenue in Columbus.

"What a big day," Rossetti said.

The day will begins at 3 p.m. today at Tuttle Recreation Center on Oakland Avenue. The Olympic committee has asked torchbearers to assemble there for final instructions and information, as well as to verify the identity of each torchbearer with a photo identification.

They'll also outfit the wheelchair Rossetti depends on with a specially designed bracket to hold the torch.

Even though the chair will be holding the torch, Rossetti said she'll carry what she's sure will be a permanently uplifted spirit.

"Everyone there is going to keep that spirit in their mind and keep that memory for a lifetime," Rossetti said.

"It will be preserved on film and in memory. It will be a day that's unusual, a day they'll remember, cherished by me and even strangers who just happen to be there to see the torch.

"I'll recall that scene whenever I need it. There won't be a time I'll drive on campus at 17th and High and not remember what it was like and relive the memory."

Rossetti faces a unique logistic transporting the torch.

"I'm going to wave, which means I have to take one hand off the wheels," Rossetti said. "There may be some weaving involved."

Rossetti, an ardent spokeswoman for the disabled, next rolls into the limelight Feb. 23, when she competes in the Ms. Wheelchair America-Ohio in Mansfield.

[Caption with photo] - Gahanna resident Rosemarie Rossetti will carry the Olympic torch today as it passes through Columbus.