|
|
|
|
|
||
|
EDITOR'S PAGE So Many Contributions, by Rich Kirkner It came over me around this time last year like a cloud comes over a sun-drenched Dakota wheat field. The cloud moved in when I was thinking about this
month's issue, a tribute to the most influential optometrists of the 20th century. I was thinking how difficult it is to ask contemporaries on the front edge of a century to select the most influential people reaching
back 100 years. Tough to do everyone justice. This month's "Most Influential O.D.s of the 20th Century" is simply the opinions of a couple hundred optometrists who volunteered their votes. Nothing more, nothing less.
And, we did leave many worthy people out. You run the risk of doing this whenever you try to spread thank-yous around a group. So, we've tried to limit the scope of our selection
process. We don't claim to make it into more than it is: a reader's choice poll, if you will. Names like Borish, Skeffington and Feinbloom resonate through the generations.
But, it's difficult for today's doctors to sustain perspective on the equally significant contributions of the likes of Charles Sheard, Charles Prentice and Meredith Morgan.
Time, sadly, has a way of wearing down collective memories. We could fill pages with names alone of people who have given much to the
profession. But, that would be just names, and inadequate tributes are as bad, if not worse, than none at all. We'll trust that in future years the National Optometry Hall of Fame will do them justice.
This is what makes optometry unique as a profession. Despite the relatively small universe, there are countless individuals who have made significant contributions.
Credit the profession's high level of education, broad scope of practice and the type of person optometry attracts. Compiling that roll is a difficult task. That's another reason why that feeling came over me last December. So, we put it to our readers. I think they've done a pretty fair job. I hope you agree. Nonetheless, I'd be glad to hear your stories about optometrists who have
influenced you. We'll consider them for a special Letters & E-Mail page in March. Please send them to our new address at 11 Campus Blvd., Suite 100, Newtown Square, PA 19073; or e-mail them to me at In the meantime, have a joyous and safe holiday.
|
| | | | | | | |
We're going to leave someone out.
