Miguel Dulick has lived in Las Vegas, Honduras since 2003.
There he has no projects, no plans, no investments -- only to share the life of the poor.
For years he has been sending reports back to friends and family in St. Louis, and the Beacon is proud to become a part of his circle.
So many of the missives that come from the small town of Las Vegas lately have seemed to be about death -- and indeed, another funeral Mass and novena feature in this month's stories. But people are also healing, and going to the circus and celebrating the Feast of the Holy Cross.
I’m sorry that these newsletters sound like a litany of 'bring out your dead.' It just seems there’s another serious illness every week. But vaccinating pets, building a new wall around the church and father's day celebrations brought community, all leading up to the most touching religious days.
A woman in her 50s, the wife of an alcoholic, dies of liver cancer. A young man,18, who had been part of the author's life when he first came to Honduras, is gunned down. An woman, 98, dies of illness, leaving her husband to mourn and pray.
Three deaths, with birthdays and reunions woven in, show how people are all interconnected. In this installment of his missives home, Dulick sees all of this as part of God's plan and hopes that, like Pi, readers might choose to ride with the tiger.
The day the world was supposed to end, Dulick was robbed. But in the season and in remembrance of his own prayers, he found a way to forgive. He also found ways to celebrate Chemo's grade school graduation, birthdays and a child's restoration to health at a center supported in part by students Charley Merriott brings each year.
It's time for Chemo's math test. The president of the soccer club collapsed and died of a heart attack at only 32. Man who tried to enter the U.S. illegally returns after an abusive jail stay. The priest announces that Santa Claus is “gringo” invention of Coca-Cola advertising.
The second funeral in four months for Michael Dulick -- his big brother John in July, his little brother Bob in October. The second was even harder, and while Michael was in St. Louis his mentor, Fr. John Kavanaugh, S.J., died. And back in Honduras, another funeral.
The Beacon regularly prints Michael Dulick's monthly reports from his life lived simply, but with triumphant and tragic personal stories, in Honduras. One constant in recent months has been his concern that his son Chemo needs further cardiac surgery. The doctor's report is in.
Chemo’s “majority” means I lose my parental role as his foster-father. I apparently did a little too much thinking out loud, since he kept asking me if he had to move out. I kept re-assuring him -- and myself -- that our relationship was the same as ever, even closer, best of friends.
Much of August was spent in St. Louis, following the death of John Dulick. Back in Honduras, a wedding, a regional celebration of family and a birthday kept life moving along quickly. And gifts, including a doll, brought smiles.
Chemo · Miguel Dulick · Ray Pease · Dona Julia · Mike Baldwin
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Donna Korando is the Beacon's arts and features editor. You can contact her at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.
Developers on the south side come in all shapes and sizes, with ambitions that vary from single buildings to entire city blocks. In the first of a two-part story, Jason Deem talks about building community.
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Sally Altman is the Beacon's Health and Science editor. You can contact her at saltman@stlbeacon.org.
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Donna Korando is the Beacon's Voices editor. You can contact her and submit opinion pieces for possible publication at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.