6-Opinion
6 The Sentinel
July 18, 2013
OPINIONS / YOURS AND OURS
With golf event, area’s cup runneth over One of the biggest sporting events you’ve probably never heard of will take place in the Denver metro area next month. The Solheim Cup will bring two dozen of the best players in women’s professional golf to Parker. We know: August in Colorado means the Broncos are back — and we’re excited about that, too. But the NFL’s regular season will still be weeks away during the Aug. 13-18 Solheim Cup. Take a timeout from the preseason and turn your attention to the Colorado Golf Club. That might mean ordering tickets for the event. Or it might mean just watching on TV. Either way, the event is worthy of acknowledging, for a number of reasons: • The top international team competi-
OUR VIEW tion in women’s golf, the Solheim Cup will feature 12 players from the United States playing against 12 from Europe. (Think Ryder Cup, for those of you familiar with men’s pro golf.) Even if you normally don’t follow the women’s game, or golf in general, we think you will be impressed by the quality of play. Sure, you’ll see some precision pitches and putts, but also, with Colorado’s elevation, you might be treated to some 300-yard drives.
• The event puts a spotlight on women’s athletics. If you have a young daughter interested in sports, these talented women could serve as an inspiration for what can be achieved. At the same time, it highlights good sportsmanship — we’re fairly certain you won’t see any violent temper tantrums or hear talk of performance-enhancing drugs. • The Solheim Cup will help elevate the Denver area’s status on the global stage. Nothing wrong with letting people across the world know there is more to Colorado than skiing, beer and the Broncos. • The event is expected to provide a boost for the area’s economy. The 2009 Solheim Cup, hosted by a course in a Chicago suburb, reportedly generated a $19.4 mil-
lion economic impact for the area. Officials here were told to expect a similar benefit. Hotels and restaurants in Denver, Douglas and Arapahoe counties should get a major boost. But we suspect that many visitors, who may be making their first trip to the Centennial State, will also venture west and take in the scenery — and patronize the businesses — of communities within a chip shot of the mountains. The Solheim Cup also offers something else, something you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a golf tournament: a fun atmosphere. Spectators will be singing and chanting, some dressed up in costumes, as they cheer for the Americans or Europeans. Sounds like a good way for Broncos fans to get warmed up.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
What is your favorite summer memory? As the summer weather warms up, we asked some park-goers enjoying a warm, sunny day at E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park in Northglenn to share their favorite summertime memories.
Boating, water skiing and camping. It was relaxing being with family. Marilyn Lynch
Going to the beach. I enjoyed swimming and other activities around theb each. Wes Wessberg
They are all always good summers for me. Everything is in bloom and beautiful — especially around the lakes. Jane Robb
The Sentinel 8703 Yates Drive Suite 210., Westminster, CO 80031 GERARD HEALEY President BARB STOLTE Publisher
Camping, the fires. I like the sound of them. Dennis Lynch
Colorado Community Media Phone 303-566-4100 • Fax 303-426-4209
Columnists and guest commentaries
SANDRA ARELLANO Circulation Director
The Sentinel features a limited number of regular columnists, found on these pages and elsewhere in the paper, depending on the typical subject the columnist covers. Their opinions are not necessarily those of the Sentinel. Want your own chance to bring an issue to our readers’ attention, to highlight something great in our community, or just to make people laugh? Why not write a letter of 300 words or fewer. Include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.
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Undervalued virtues: kindness Imagine being a 17-year-old girl. Okay, okay — sorry. I can hear the collective shudder from here. Try again: Imagine being a 17-year-old girl, and it’s 5:30 in the morning. You’ve been awake for an hour already, and you’re sitting in your very fashionable hospital gown in a small examination room in the surgery ward at Children’s Hospital. For some reason this body, which, as a dancer, you’ve staked your existence on, has started to betray you. For no apparent reason, your arm goes numb or cold, or you have a persistent dull ache for days at a time. It turns out you have a small skeletal abnormality which, if uncorrected, may rob you of the function of one of your arms. And the means to correct the problem is for a doctor to make a small incision in your neck, reach in to your shoulder and, for lack of a better term, saw off the offending bone structure. In other words, this is a scary moment. Even the knowledge that your surgeon, Dr. David Partrick, is one of the best in the country can’t stave off all the butterflies. And then the first person to talk with you is Dr. Fernandez, who announces that she’s your anesthesiologist, which means she’s the person with all the good drugs. She’s pleasant, and personable, she makes jokes, and talks to you as if you’re actually in the room, and gets you to laugh and be at ease before giving you the “good stuff”. When you wake up, the first person you see greets you with a smile, and a query about your pain. She reassures you that, should you need any “help” with the pain, she’s there for you. Then you’re wheeled up to you room, where your nurse, Corrie, meets you. She tells you that she has doctor orders to follow, but that she listens to what you and your parents tell her, and she will make sure that you are as comfortable as you can be. For the first two hours, she is in the room almost constantly, checking your vital signs and reading the displays, but
mostly just talking to you and seeing how you’re doing. It’s hard to know, in times like that, what sort of things are meaningful. I would have assumed that I, personally, would appreciate competence and science. But, in times like that, what a patient — what a parent — values more than you would have ever thought possible is the little kindnesses that each caretaker extended all along the way. From actually listening to you, to the periodic, surreptitious look in while she’s sleeping, to breaking into a slight jog to go get you a box of apple juice when she asks for it, or even the speedy callback and reassurance from Nurse Stephanie that she would take care of the insurance — these little touches matter a great deal. They make a difference. I know, in this day and age, we’re all supposed to be about the metrics and the bottom line. But what I was starkly reminded of by my daughter’s experience at Children’s Hospital was that there is no metric that means as much as a simple act of kindness. We constantly underestimate the value of the little human touches, to our diminishment. So, to Dr. Partrick, Dr. Goldberg, Dr. Fernandez, and especially to our nurses, Corrie and Stephanie: a simple, but very heartfelt, thank you. She’s doing just fine, thanks to you. Michael Alcorn is a music teacher and fitness instructor who lives in Arvada with his wife and three children. He graduated from Alameda High School and the University of Colorado-Boulder.