The Good News of Puck, 4.21.2017
Today I saw Puck Vlaskamp play her last tennis matches as an undergraduate at Maryville University. She has given her all to her studies and her sport, and has touched and inspired many of us…
Author: Mark J. Chmiel
The Good News of Ahmed Kathrada and His Words, 4.20.2017
My friend Pat Geier shared this short film on Ahmed Kathrada, who spent 26 years in prison alongside Nelson Mandela.
The Good News of Publishing a Novel, 4.19.2017
At Amazon.com, I see that my friend Jason Makansi’s novel, The Moment Before, will be out in November. It’s about “a woman and her beloved Syrian father, separated forty years earlier when he is swept…
Share the Wealth with Colin McLaughlin: The Life of Eugene Debs
Eugene V. Debs was a free speech advocate, a presidential candidate, a trade unionist, and a man who dedicated his life to economic justice for the working class and antiwar efforts surrounding World War One,…
On Daniel Berrigan
1. Some of Daniel Berrigan’s Whitmanian multitudes: Brother, uncle, jailbird, correspondent, chef, Jesuit, retreat master, playwright poet, peacemaker, mentor, reader, teacher, prophet, son, friend, logophile. 2. In our age they they talk about the importance…
Ninety Years Alive on Earth
On Thich Nhat Hanh, At Home in the World: Stories and Essential Teachings from a Monk’s Life. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press, 2016. Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh is a survivor. Narrowly missing death in…
The Good News of Pregnancy, 4.10.2017
Eileen McGrath Mosher responded to my out of the blue text with word that she is expecting her third child this September.
The Good News of Opening, 4.9.2017
I asked Kine and Puck if they’d be willing to open their home on campus to host Share the Wealth with Marilyn Vazquez, and they agreed; warm hospitality was also extended by tennis teammates Bekah…