Small Town Hero

The news that Jake Swartwood was killed in a rock-climbing accident Tuesday stunned me. Immediately I began thinking about the many conversations I had with him.

I first met Jake Swartwood when I was doing a story on him about dragonboats. His dragonboat team had won the state championship. I spent 45 minutes taking photos because it was enjoyable to talk to him, and because there was something special about him.

Jake related the story of winning, but he related the story of practicing in Denver each week too. He said spending time with his uncle and aunt who were on the team was the “most enjoyable part” of the experience. Naturally, he was the ‘lead’ of the boat, a key position that challenged and encouraged the rest of the team to do their best.

I found him to be personable and very likable. It was easy to talk to him, and I went away from the interview thinking he was quite a young man.

So started a friendly relationship where when I would see Jake we'd stop and visit for a few minutes. Frequently I’d see him at the store working, and I'd always leave with an attitude that if we had more young people like him then our future would be bright.

The next story I did on Jake was about his incredible 9th place finish out of 5000 runners in the Denver Marathon this May. There were a few points about the story that underlined Jake's determination and strength. He started back in the pack and had to run the first couple of miles very quickly to get in front. His knee began to hurt around seven miles, but he kept running; by about mile 19 or so he was running with a straight leg, and he just kept going.

He finished his first marathon ever as the 9th place runner. What a feat. Then he found out it wasn't official, because of a faulty time chip given to him by race personnel. They would acknowledge he took 9th, but it wouldn't be official, and that meant he wouldn't be invited to the Boston Marathon, which should have been his right since he earned the invitation.

Jake's attitude? A little “disappointment”, he said as the days went by. Anger, bitterness, or a call for justice? Nope. “Wow, how different than many athletes,” I thought.

A reporter is supposed to be objective, but I couldn't help telling him I was a Jake Swartwood fan. He smiled.

A week or two later I was in the store again and asked Jake what thing he had won recently. He told me he was in a golf tournament. I said, “You won, of course, right?” Jake laughed and said no, and actually he wasn't good at golf. I thanked him for NOT being perfect so we could all still relate to him. We shared a laugh

A few weeks ago Jake told me about being on the championship dragonboat team again this year. Despite handily winning the final race they were disqualified due to some flag being out of place.

I couldn't believe another disappointment that was so unfair. Jake was weathering it again with grace and dignity.

Sunday I saw him at the picnic where he was working, of course. I reminded him to send me some of the info on the dragonboat race so I could do the story. I was going to emphasize his reaction to the unfair circumstances, because that's so different than many top athletes. He was talking to his dad and Jim Klipfel and had the big Jake smile, and I remember at the time thinking I had just missed a good photo.

I'm a Jake Swartwood fan, and forever will be. I suspect there's A LOT of people in the community who feel the same way. God's peace, Jake. You have left a warm spot in our hearts forever.

By: Holly Plattner

eid shoma mobarak!

Norooz! Happy Persian New Year everyone!

Last night, the girls from my floor accompanied me to what was sure to be an exciting celebration. The Persian Student Group here on campus put on a wonderful festivity during which we could all celebrate the new year. There were stunning performances of traditional dance, music, comedy...you name it. As my resident, Banafsheh, put it "we're running on Persian standard time." What was supposed to happen at 6:00 pm did not start until 6:30 pm, but the atmosphere whispered (sometimes yelled) this is about enjoying each other and celebrating our world; sit back and do exactly that.

The food was interesting and delicious. I was unfortunately called away by an impending deadline for a paper, but what I did see was great. In getting to just chat with my residents before it all started, we ruminated about our own backgrounds. The campus, and therefor our handful of girls consisted of mainly European descent. In fact, we lamented for a moment about not having a past worth celebrating. I stopped myself in that moment, though. Not worth celebrating!? What does that even mean? We are all worth celebrating!

This is going to sound controversial, but know that I have the best intentions. I am tired of being told or hinted to that my own background is the "norm" and therefore unworthy of or lacking in "culture." I am not just "white" and I'm tired of being written off as such. I come from a family thick in German heritage. For heavens sake, my mother's maiden name is Kottenstette and the names only get more German the farther back you go. My father tells me a story of my "great great's" in which a Scotch-Irish man in our family married a red-headed Italian. The stories are endless in which I could tell pieces of my heritage.

I know that standing next to a great percentage of my peers I am going to look like "just another" but I encourage us all to look past those groupings. It is so naive to think in terms of white, black, red, yellow and so on. A man or woman being black, does not mean that he shares the same heritage as his similarly dark friend. A man or woman being white does not mean that they are only part of a homogeneous, uninteresting grouping. There are too many beautiful mixtures of people in this world, and we should never be afraid or think little about celebrating our own unique mix. So what are you waiting for!? Get a group together...celebrate being beautiful...celebrate being human.

The Semester of Laughter

Part of the reason that I revamped this blog was so that I could stay in touch with everyone that has been so curious about my life. I am a huge fan of talking in person so this should never replace good conversation, good hugs, or good times. I understand, though, that there are just some awesome things to get out there.

So, I'll start at the the beginning of this school year because some amazing transformations have taken place as of late. I started my sophomore year at the University of Colorado and I took up the role of Resident Advisor. I work for an amazing woman who is always looking out for the interests of her staff; Vanessa Dunn. I love my job and through it have met a whole floor of forty wonderful girls. They make me smile daily and it is so much fun to hear all of their stories and be part of a short blip in what I know will be dynamic lives for them all.

Also, through being an RA, I have met the most wonderful two "older brothers" if you will. Joshua Marshman and Jon Fragoso are whole stories in and of themselves. With them and with Rose, Ross, Nick, Graham, Brad, Kara, Serwaa, James, Jake, Brittni, Alex, and Dan, we have the most amazing staff ever created! At the very beginning of the semester, the lot of us (with Justine, who is also amazing although not working with us anymore) went to Mt. Evans to watch a meteor shower. It was such a random shenanigan...it was FREEZING, but beautiful and it was the first time we got to really spend time together. We did not return, I don't think, until the wee hours of the morning and we had more training the next day!

Justine, Joshua, Jon, and Joshua's friend Greg also came to my house one day during the first weeks and Joshua led us on what was an epic first-time 14er hike. We hiked Mt. Humboldt near Westcliffe and camped up there for two days. It was so beautiful and I could not have been in better company. There was only one catch to what was an amazing trip. We hiked to the top of Humboldt the first day that we were up there and on the way down we kept searching for a spot to camp. Fatigue and cold got the better of our patience and we decided to park the tent right next to Colony Lakes still above timberline. Such a poor decision! The tent that I had brought with me was not made for...wait for it...60 MILE AN HOUR WINDS! All five of us were huddled in a tent that was rapidly breaking into pieces and crushing in on us. It was freezing, ridiculously windy and in the light of morning we woke to find ourselves inside of a cloud. No joke. With our original plans being to hike another 14er nearby, we quickly scrapped that plan and headed back down the mountain. This is all, of course, not to mention the fact that our wonderfully ambitious Joshua decided to hike a second 14er (Challenger Peak) by himself the previous day while we set up camp. He did not return to camp until it was already dark and because of his fatigue he managed to put considerable stress on his knee and we left with a man who was once whole, but was now injured. I have since learned that he likes to frequent the house of injuries...silly person.

We headed down to Rye, Colorado one more time last semester. What was supposed to be an epic hot air balloon experience actually just turned into somewhat of an awkward weekend. Joshua and Jon were dragged for several yards in a wind vs. balloon catastrophe and after helping set up Katherine and I were just left on the ground to watch.

Since the first six weeks of school the fun adventures have been significantly fewer as the semester's work started to rear it's ugly head, but whenever adventures do occur, they are just as epic. It was a semester of wonderful, uncontrollable laughter and many lesson learned. Joshua and Jon also introduced me to The Annex at the beginning of the year. I don't know if they will ever understand what a wonderful thing they did for me in that. :) The Annex is the group through which I recently went on a mission trip to Ireland and every Tuesday I get to spend time with God in a community unlike I've ever witnessed before. It really is, "Real Life in Jesus Christ." Simply amazing.

I'm also in a bible study with Gina, Lorena, Chelsea, Michelle, Kristin, Annie, and one of my best friends ever, Megan Rigby through St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. All of these people in my life have and still are holding me accountable and providing laughter in unending amounts. Last semester embodied the learning of several hard lessons (some lessons still in progress) but God has been faithful the whole time. I am so blessed to have been introduced to so many fun and amazing people. And to think...it is all just the beginning of what is surely a great chapter.

Oh...Social Experiments

Social experiments are one of three things: extremely vexing social irritants, nonsensically hilarious, or purely interesting. Recently, there has been a sort of social experiment making the rounds in the cyber-line up. Essentially all you have to do is tell the electronic world 25 random facts about yourself. It has been whizzing in and out of various spaces for several months now, only showing up to nag me. Eventually, though, I read one or two of my close friends answers. It was actually quite enjoyable reading random things about the people I cared about. Some were silly and some were inspirational, depending on the person (or perhaps on their mood when completing said internet social experiment). As it stands, I actually got the patience to complete one myself and I just thought I'd post it. So here it is...perhaps you'll learn something you'd never have guessed. ;)


25 Random Facts about Samantha (Sam, Samwise, Samalander, whatever other nickname you may have for me) Davenport

1 - I feel like I was born in the wrong time period. Every time I watch/read a western, a renaissance book, an epic battle, a feudal struggle or virtually any other sort of book or movie of the past I think, "Why not me?!" Of course, I'm too strong willed to leave women's rights back here in the present, but under a lot of circumstances I wouldn't mind be stuck in a Michael Crichton novel, where I could choose any time period to go to.

2 - I think that life is a continual cycle of exploration. We experience our deepest and greatest relationships when we are making discoveries together. This fact gives birth to lots of other facts...

3 - I did not realize how much I love the outdoors and small towns until I moved to college. I have owned up to my small town childhood more this past year or so than I ever have. I love saying hello to everyone with their first name and sitting down to a good conversation even though I might not really have the time. It has made me realize the truth in the fact that we have one trip around this beautiful life and I'd better soak up those good moments.

4 - I think that children are often the most beautiful things in the world. I wish the eyes of innocent exploration that a child has would stay forever.

5 - I'm a big proponent of playing and being silly and going outside.....rambunctiousness!

6 - I love words. New words, old words, big words, small words, funny words, serious words, foreign words. Language is such a crazy phenomenon in history.

7 - I wish more of my time could be spent in good company and in good conversation. Time flies faster and faster and the only consistent thing is the love we show one another.

8 - I love surprises and spontaneity....like being with friends or even a special someone when I don't have to plan anything. Just exploring is good enough because we're doing it together and there can be no amount of planning that would do life better justice.

9 - My favorites are ----- color: green smell: meadows, campfires, rain, basil, horses, clothes that were dried outside food: my mom's, salads and barbecue type stuffs dessert: chocolate covered strawberries season: fall/spring

10 - The perfect day and/or date is to go for a long day of hiking and end it with swimming (depending on the season) to cool off and a nap. My friends used to tease me about that one.... what am I saying? They still do. :) Don't get me wrong, I like going to dinner and stuff like that too, but I just enjoy sharing in this beautiful place called Earth.

11 - I have laughed more in the passed semester than I ever thought possible. I laughed a lot before, but it has recently been nigh on ridiculous. :D

12 - When I was a little girl I thought, of course, that my dad was the most important man in the world. My opinions haven't changed. :) He has always pushed and challenged me....I know he's always got my back.

13 - I love hugs. And kisses on the head.

14 - My favorite verses are Isaiah 40:31, Hebrews 12, and Philippians 4:13

15 - If I could be any animal I would either be an eagle or a black panther.

16 - I feel scatter brained sometimes because I have too many interests. I love history, biology, geology, math, literature....all of it. It makes me anxious sometimes because I feel like I need to pick one and it needs to be the right one. But then, discoveries have no limit. Just because my major is one thing, does not mean that I am not exploring the others.

17 - I have a picture of my sister on my desk that could cheer me up even if I was being tortured. It is so ridiculous cute. She's so great! :)

18 - My heart is too big good for its own good. I'm inspired to tears a lot and I love a great deal no matter how much it may seem like my head gets in the way.

19 - I think insecurities are the worst thing in the world.

20 - I think that we learn and we live through our work. It is a goal of mine to lead a lifestyle in which I go to bed, exhausted and beat with a good days work; tired with joy.

21 - I love lost arts like archery and sword fighting.

22 - It is impossible for me to look around and not believe in God. People are beautiful, the land is beautiful, even our struggles as tiny or as large as they may be are often quite beautiful and His hand is everywhere.

23 - I love making people happy or making them laugh.

24 - I love nicknames. I have been given quite a few. haha

25 - I wish I could take back what I like to call "word vomit." You know...those moments where you admitted something before you could stop yourself, or you stated something that could have been saved for later or not said at all but it got out anyway and made the situation mildly awkward...haha...I guess there's "action vomit" too......but then it's a hopeless wish. Things can't be changed and those who care about you wouldn't want it changed anyway.

25.5 - there are obviously more than 25 things that we could all share with one another. I encourage all to love one another for how dynamic and awesome everyone is! Cheers to good conversations and good times. :)

The Human Experience

Last night, my friend Megan Rigby and I went to a pre-screening of Grassroots film called, "The Human Experience." One thing about me is that I have a tendency to be frequently inspired. I'm at constant battle with innumerable interests and pursuits. My heart is too large for its own good sometimes. Last night’s film was not any different. It was, hands down, one of the best films that I have ever seen. It is about these boys from Brooklyn who decide to pack it up one day and remember what it is like to be human. They spend the coldest night of the winter living on the streets of New York with the homeless, they spend weeks in Peru with a group of guys from "Surf for the Cause" helping out in a children’s home, and they visit a leper colony in Ghana, Africa. Their story was so inspiring and beautiful. Essentially, they wanted to know what kept people going. What does it mean to be a human being? What gives you hope in such great suffering?

The boys themselves were from rough inner city backgrounds. They live in a place called St. Joseph's House. Jeffrey and Cliff Azize are two of the main characters and neither of them had seen their father for ten years and their mother passed away when they were young. Michael Campo is a film student who struggles with the life of the city and a disability in his left arm and Mathew Sanchez is another member of this band of brothers whose mother died of aids before he was given the opportunity to know her. They all came together on this "experience" to ask the tough questions.

Megan and I just watched the film along with some other girls from our bible study that we met up with and I know I do not speak for myself when I say that it was mind-blowing. Amidst the most unimaginable suffering, people were of more spirit than many people I see on a day to day basis. The children of Peru were not given a gift from the volunteers; they were the ones giving the gift. Many of these orphans do not have all limbs and are battling with the most painful of predicaments, yet their joy flows so abundantly that it breathed new life into a few hundred people in Boulder, Colorado just last night. They were beautiful and brave and strong.....and they were happy.

The week that Jeffery and Cliff spent on the streets of New York birthed lessons that I would not have expected. There was a man that they spoke to that said, even as he sat freezing on the coldest night of the year, "I know that God has a purpose for me. I do not know what that is, but I am able to help people even if it seems like I have nothing." Likewise, a homeless woman was asked what she would say if she were given an opportunity to speak to the rest of the world. She said that she would ask the world, "Why don't you help your brothers and sisters? When they are in trouble that is what you do."

And in Ghana....a man from the leper colony along with all of the people there that would seemingly have every reason and right to be upset with the world simply looked into Michael's eyes and said, "You are my brother. We are happy. We are the same." Especially in the part of the film devoted to Africa, I found myself in absolute and uncontrollable awe of human life. I do not believe that I have ever doubted it, but now more than ever, in hardship and in good times humanity is a beautiful thing. A woman in Ghana, diagnosed with HIV was given an opportunity to tell the camera what legacy she would like to leave behind for her children. She was not a reverant woman with many years on her life's shelf. She was "still in the sadness" of her diagnoses, but she said, "Trust in God. He will make possible whatever it is you strive to do in your life." Awesome.

Life is one lesson after another. I do not have to be wise with the number of years I have lived to recognize that. The lesson that we all learned last night and the lesson we should all look to; especially in the unfortunate frequency of our own selfishness is that we can make differences. We do not have to go to Ghana or Peru or live homeless for a week to understand that we are all part of something incredible. We can start within our families. In fact, Jeffery Azize and Michael Campo were there last night. We asked them what could be done to "experience" and know love in the way that they seem to have grasped. Jeffery harkened to the part of the film where his brother arranged to see their father for the first time in a decade. He said that we can "make peace within our families" for starters. So there it is. We can take a look at our own lives close at hand and ask ourselves, "How am I loving my brother?"...."How am I loving my sister?" and "How am I being loved?"

I almost did not go to this pre-screening, but God made sure that I was there. My life's suffering is not at all near the level of suffering witnessed in this film. We should all be so lucky as to recognize life's gift as they have.

On the Emerald Isle

Erin go Bragh! (Ireland Forever!) I am back in the United States and being tossed around in the sea that is "Spring Semester." I hope, again, that this finds you all well and enjoying the beginning of 2009. I have many new stories to tell and pictures to show you! This letter will in no way be able to wrap up what an amazing adventure it was to visit Ireland. I will do my best to fill you in. I really cannot wait to tell you all in person though.

We left on the morning of the 27^th from Denver and did not arrive until the morning of the 28^th in Dublin, Ireland. The sun was just rising there (even though it was already 9:00 am), but our bodies all told us that it was setting. It was very bizarre to experience almost non-stop sunlight for two days. We stayed in a YWCA about forty minutes from Dublin in a shore town called Greystones. What a wonderful place! The Irish Sea was a two minute walk from our house. I even managed to jump into it one night at mid-night, but that is a heck of a story in and of itself. Ask me about it when you see me. Can you say “FREEZING!?” Seriously, though, we were truly blessed to have such accommodations. Our host family was incredibly gracious. They were originally from England and their children were so much fun to get to know and play soccer (“football”) with.

Our work in Ireland consisted of many different things. To give you a clue, however, I do not think I have ever or will ever paint so much in my entire life. We painted the men’s section of the YWCA, ripped up carpet, and did many other things to get it ready for whoever may pass through its walls. They called it “decorating” which had many of us confused on our way out to work that day. Half of the team also painted a youth drop in center in Bre which was about five miles north of Greystones. We had such an inspirational and fun time there that we brought the second half of the team on the next day to finish it all up. Our hosts at the center even taught us how to do the Irish jig! We hiked there together along a scenic path through the countryside. The ocean was to our right and beautiful cliffs and rolling green hills were to our left. It was a gorgeous and rare day. The sun decided to join us and it was mild enough to just wear a fleece. (many of the other days were freezing!) Our work at the youth center was fulfilling and appreciated.

We had one day of work in which we decided to pick up trash in a local neighborhood that was particularly in need of it. We picked up over fifty bags of trash and it was far from getting it all. Our work had unintended meaning that day as well. When we were picking up trash we ran into four little boys that had nothing but unkind things to say. It was disheartening to hear some of the things they said come from such little guys. They followed us on our entire journey taunting and making a fuss. Frankly, they were trying everyone’s patience. After getting to talk to them for a while, though, God opened our hearts to them. We asked them what they did for fun and they replied with stories about how they would taunt the drunk and drugged people in their neighborhood and see how far they could run before they were caught. I think we were all unaware of how rough they had it. God granted us a view that no one had expected that day, and after inviting them to play soccer with us, it made us all glad to hear cursing appear less and less in their sentences as the day wore on. We prayed for them that night, hoping that they might come back to the house more often be cared for by whoever might be there.

My time in Greystones was beautiful, eye-opening, and humbling. I went on many good runs and walks and had many good “spots of tea.” (There was no way around the eleven o’clock tea break. The whole of Ireland seems to have tea at that time.) I enjoyed the work we completed there immensely. When it came time to say goodbye, we were all very reluctant.

From Greystones, we went Northern Ireland where we stayed at Queen’s College in Belfast. It was a much different experience. The Irish accent is much thicker in Northern Ireland and communication was often a bit of a laugh. We worked with some incredible people from Habitat for Humanity. We hung drywall and moved bricks for the construction of one of many of their houses. We also got a very small but amazing look at the struggle between Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods there. There were forty “peace walls” that still separate communities and prevent them from interacting violently. Fighting has really stopped, but because there has been such a long history of struggle our host said, “reconciliation is our next challenge and it’s far from over.” The biggest goal is to help the children know that they can work together even if they do not always agree.

We also got a tour of the Parliament building, Stormont, in Belfast. We were even met by Deputy Prime Minister, Danny Kennedy. What an experience! The history was fascinating. Apparently, the building was used as a Royal Air Force strategy center in World War II. Because the building was white, the RAF covered it and the marbled streets around it with coal dust and manure so that they could not be seen from enemy air craft. You can still see some of it in the crevices. It was so neat to be in the same room that RAF strategists and pilots had been so many years ago.

The trip was so good in so many ways. The work that we did was rewarding and helpful and through our efforts we really became attached to the great big island. On a personal level, the trip did more for my faith and my confidence than any of you will ever be able to imagine. The trip brought new people into my life that I will never forget. It was truly a hand picked group. I can not thank you all enough for what you have done for me and for the people that we were able help.