A newspaper is a lot of things besides a place to find the news. It's also a record of extraordinary people doing extraordinary things.
That occurs to me whenever I hear from somebody about how we should be covering more positive news. Usually that sends me paging through recent editions, and almost always I end up wondering how they could have missed all those stories about people's accomplishments, brave deeds and perseverance.
There are dozens of examples every week, big and small. Some are life-changing or life-saving and are part of stories that had the potential to be very negative.
Take for example the two Budweiser delivery men who rescued two children on Friday afternoon from a vehicle parked in the direct sun. Travis McDonald and Wade Bennett tried to open the doors after finding the crying children, one of whom had a nosebleed from the heat, then called for help. They wouldn't let their caretaker leave until authorities arrived and she was arrested.
Then there's social worker Marti Olsen, who helped secure Medicaid funding so that 5-month-old Zachary Benson can have brain surgery that could save his life.
Most of the stories aren't that dramatic, but they're important nonetheless. They include the names of dozens of kids each week who've posted notable academic or extracurricular accomplishments.
Sports is so full of examples that they're on nearly every page. Some are as simple as a hole-in-one; others are team accomplishments, whether it's the members of the Carson High golf team who have won six straight tournaments or the WNCC baseball team playing for a conference title in its first year of competition.
And volunteers and civic clubs are an endless source of positive stories. For example, there's a group of volunteers doing what they can to preserve Stockton Well, a way station for immigrants in the 1860s near Silver Springs, and groups holding fundraisers to help less fortunate people.
There are dozens of citizens putting themselves out there to run for office. Say what you will about politicians, but I'll guarantee that many of them are running for offices for all the right reasons.
I could go on, but there's really no need. One thing my years in the business have taught me is there is an endless supply of stories yet to tell about extraordinary people. And that in itself is pretty amazing.
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On the theme of extraordinary people, I have to say that several of them passed me by when I was running in the Escape from Prison Hill Half Marathon last weekend.
It's certainly not extraordinary that they finished ahead of me, since the hills along the trail reduced me to an agonizing walk at times in my first half-marathon. But that the winner, Ross McMahan of Incline Village, finished better than a half-hour before I struggled across the line strikes me as a sign of a pretty remarkable performance.
Ultimately, my goal is to complete a marathon this year, and I'll be quite proud if I'm successful, no matter what time I finish.
But I have to be honest, after reading about Sir Ranulph Fiennes of Great Britain, I probably won't consider it an extraordinary accomplishment. Three months after undergoing heart bypass surgery, Fiennes ran seven marathons in seven continents in seven days at the age of 59.
And then there's Jerry Dunn, who will be a speaker at the Marathon de Mayo in Reno this weekend. He ran 200 marathons in 2000 at the age of 53.
It makes me wonder if I've set my goal too low.
• Barry Ginter is the editor of the Appeal. Contact him at bginter@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1221.