Yesterday, in the wake of the front page Akron Beacon Journal story coverage of Chuck's forgiveness of his assailant, he gained three pulpit assignments (straight from the new website), one Red Cross at Infocision Stadium Banquet hall speaking appointment, a 5-week teaching Seminar, a call from an AOL News journalist, access to a professional speech/communications coach and a heartfelt request from the journalist who wrote the Akron Beacon Journal article if we would allow her to write a book about us. (We will! It's a book we don't want to write ourselves! At all! We're hoping my agent friend John in New York might take an interest if Marilyn doesn't already have an agent/publisher lined up.) Mom is sending the article to Dr. Phil (is there an eyeroll icon? just kidding, Mom), who did a feature yesterday on radical forgiveness.
At an Akron Roundtable event yesterday, Chuck met Senator Sherrod Brown and spoke with him for several minutes ( I slipped the Senator our article and he asked me several questions about it) and at least 20 business leaders, friends and associates literally put their arms around Chuck to thank him for who he is and how much his story means to them. Among them was a judge who talked about what a keen interest he and other judges and legal folk have taken in Chuck's story. Almost everyone said that Chuck's story gave them a sense of hope and another way to look at the world in the midst of all the violence we're reading about these days.
It is a pure joy to see Chuck being treated as a cherished and respected figure in our community...and to see him "emerging" to every situation with humor and that old canniness.
The article can be found as a link on the homepage of Chuck's new website www.chucksandstrom.org
Today, it's back to the usual stuff: teaching my little U of Akron writing class, working out, calling up the teenagers that comprise our new urban drama group The Goodyear Heights Playa's, paying bills, doing dishes, eating oatmeal. It's a good life. I'll take it.
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