by jphilo | Jan 20, 2009 | Current Events
Today’s inaguration of our first African-American president, Barack Obama, fulfills the dream Martin Luther King put into words when I was an elementary student.
One of my former elementary students recently put words to one of his dreams recently. Nic, who is fighting cancer for the third time in his fifteen years of life, shares his dream at his family’s CaringBridge page. Click this link to get to the CaringBridge website. Type “nicroney” in the box to get to his page. Then click on “Read Journal” and scroll down to the January 19, 2009 entry to see what he wrote. And please, will you join me in praying that someday, perhaps soon, his dream of a cure for childhood cancer will be fulfilled?
by jphilo | Oct 15, 2008 | Book Updates
Today I’m pleased to introduce you to Nic. The two of us spent a year in fourth grade together. He was a student. I was the teacher. Nic’s a 9th grader this year, with a drivers’ permit and an old VW Beetle he’s fixing up with his dad.
Nic’s a kid with a grin on his face most of the time. When he was in fourth grade, his grin was biggest the day he came in and said his annual check up revealed no sign of the cancer he’d overcome when he was a toddler.
Nic was in middle school when the cancer returned in his thigh bone. But a year later when he agreed to be interviewed for my book, he was grinning like always. The pictures posted on his CaringBridge page, show he’s still smiling.
His battle with cancer continues, and his story is pretty amazing. I encourage you to visit CaringBridge and read about him and his family. His grin will have you smiling in no time.
But don’t get any ideas about riding in his refurbished VW before I do. I’ve already called shotgun for a spin around town right after his family members have their turns. There are certain perks teenagers give to their fourth grade teachers. I plan to take advantage of all of them.
