May - June 2003
Vol. 14, No. 3 | Contents

And don't forget about the campaign! Go to the online donation form and make your tax-deductible gift today!

FROM THE EDITOR: Goody, Goody
by Linda Mojer

I have to admit to a deep, dark, secret: I sometimes think that I should be doing something more worthwhile with my life. You know … something noble and righteous that will enrich the lives of others and leave me with a nice warm, fuzzy feeling at the end of the day … that sort of thing. Racquetball is, after all, just a game. Shouldn’t everyone use their talents in the pursuit of more and greater good-deed-ness? 

But as I daydreamed of other virtuous and more uplifting career options, I had to take a closer look at some of what we actually do accomplish – on a relatively small scale – and was forced to admit that there is considerable good-deed-ness going on in my general vicinity. 

In this issue alone, you’ll learn that a small group of organizers, with help from some dedicated women pros have – in a four-year period – multiplied a base contribution to the Susan G. Komen Foundation (supporting breast cancer research) 25 times over. It started small, and it’s still small, but the feel-good quotient in handing over even the “sorta-big check” is way up there. I missed the photo op (sometimes that’s best), but later fielded an email reminding me that these types of donations save lives. Racquetball saves lives? Well, okay then.

On the other end of the spectrum, another letter let me know how much the sport can mean to someone, when they aren’t as fortunate. A grief-stricken mom wrote about the passing of her only son, recalling how racquetball had given him a great deal of joy. I didn’t know the gentleman personally, but I was moved to learn that we’d touched his short life in some small way.

In this issue’s feature on the LPRA, lady pros are pictured with a St. Jude’s patient during the U.S. Open, which has generated over $100,000 for the hospital since 1996. The IRT has supported Fibromyalgia research for many years. In recent issues, we’ve covered everything from a benefit for the Neurofibromatosis Foundation to a player “tournament training” an assistance dog, to long-running memorial events for fallen friends and family. You’ll find a comeback story in this issue (and another in the next), illustrating how racquetball can motivate recovery from serious injury. Randy Stafford wraps up the campaign series with a moving story about how his life was shaped through the generosity of a fellow player in the early 70s, and how he dedicated his life to the sport as a result. 

And just before press time, I received a letter from someone who had asked for a subscription to the magazine a long time ago, and caught me on a good day. As it turns out, the publication helped him through a difficult time, and he now works with diabetics, urging them to play racquetball as part of a healthy lifestyle. He also wanted to tell me that he’d authored a series of books on the subject in his “down time,” and dedicated them, in part, to the association’s generosity. The magazine changed someone’s life?

So, how about another dirty little secret: that last one made me bawl like a baby. And when I was all done, I had to think that – maybe – this particular type of daily grind just might be worthwhile after all. 


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