The alarm wakes me with its blaring beep and the first thing I do is peep out the window.
Yep. Rain is falling.
Rain…who needs it on a golf tournament day?
But there it is. Not a driving downpour, just a gentle steady dripping.
I haul myself out of bed, infuse my system with caffeine and prep for a wet day of golf.
Thedate is July 18 and, with rain gear and golf umbrella in hand, I hop in my car and drive to Superior National at Lutsen where the annual Rally
for the Cure
Golf Tournament fundraiser is being held.
Somewhere along the drive, the rain stops, clouds disappear and a radiant sun appears.
Thinking this is a good omen, I turn into the parking lot, bring my car to a halt and begin another Susan G.
Komen Rally for the Cure
golf tournament.
The Susan G. Komen Foundation, begun by the sister of a breast cancer victim who died in 1982, battles breast cancer by raising money for research, education, screening and treatment and by doing so, combats all forms of this insidious disease.
Heath and Leah Ekstrom, Rally Ambassadors, planned the event. The staff and several volunteers added to the day’s fun by selling Mulligans and free “throws,” distributing lunch and beverages and assisting in games on the fairways.
If I had to use one word to describe this fundraiser, it would be—emotional.
Laughter and enthusiasm fill the early morning parking lot and spill into the clubhouse as women of all ages and types greet one another and decorate carts.
Later in the day, solemnity and sadness will prevail as we see the pictures of and memorials for women who have succumbed to or are engaged in battling breast cancer.
If I had to use another word to describe this tournament, it would be—pink.
Pink is part of the logo of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, so we are all wearing something pink.
Many of the outfits are clever and funny. Boxing shorts and blackened eyes are worn by one team, demonstrating the fight against breast cancer. A team wearing
T-shirts with message “
Take
Care of your Rack” receives its deserved share of laughs.
Golf cart decoration is another aspect of this tournament; balloons and glitter adorn many carts.
I’ve just barely managed to finda hat to match my shirt and am happy that I remembered to bring pink and white crepe paper that my teammates and I slap on our carts. We know we won’t win any decorating prizes. We are well aware of our strengths and weaknesses. We’ve played together for at least three years.
At 10:00, the tournament begins and my stalwart team of three (shorthanded due to happenstance) fights the good fight. Laughing, we say we’ll take last place again, but, of course, deep in our hearts, we would like not to.
We play hard. We sing marching songs. We sing drinking songs. We laugh a lot.
We shed tears at pictures of cancer patients placed along fairways. They are of people who are in treatment or who have lost the fight. Theyremind us of our lost or stricken loved ones.
In the end, we don’t win the tournament but take last place again.
Does it matter? Not really; doing anything to help combat cancer is a winning proposition.
Nobody likes being a loser but losing at golf is nothing compared to losing the battle with cancer.
On this day, we and everyone involved in this tournament did our best to help cancer patients fight and win their battles.
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