Chicken Soup for the College Soul Read online

  Angels on a Pin (101 Ways to Use a Barometer)

  Alexander Calandra

  110

  Topsy-Turvy World

  Kimberly Kirberger

  113

  4. Lessons From Outside the Classroom

  College Wisdom Seldom Exercised in the Summer

  Beth Mullally

  116

  Learning How to Be Roommates

  Elsa Lynch

  119

  The Plaster Shell

  Miriam Goldstein

  123

  The Great Escape

  Wendy Marston

  126

  Hanging Out to Dry

  Paul Karrer

  129

  Wranglers and Stranglers

  Ted Engstrom

  130

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  Of Mice and Maintenance Men

  Lisa Levenson

  132

  Knowing Where to Tap

  Tony D'Angelo

  135

  Miracle on Times Square

  Gunter David

  137

  The Dark Gift

  Kent Nerburn

  141

  Reverse Living

  Norman Glass

  144

  Blameless

  Kathy Johnson Gale

  145

  5. Love 101

  Finding My Way

  Zan Gaudioso

  150

  The Mirror

  Dan Clark

  154

  I Dare You!

  April Kemp

  158

  The Love I'll Never Forget

  Tim Madigan

  160

  Heartbreak 101

  Lauren Fox

  165

  What Is Sex?

  Adam Saperston

  169

  Swans Mate for Life

  Hal Torrance

  171

  6. Acts of Kindness

  The Boy Under the Tree

  David Coleman and Kevin Randall

  178

  For the Kids

  Diana Breclaw

  181

  Piano Music

  Daneen Kaufman Wedekind

  184

  Ten-Dollar Bills and Roses

  Mary J. Davis

  187

  A Not-So-Random Act of Kindness

  Will Keim

  188

  Christy's Last Day

  Christy Calchera, as told to Dan Clark

  191

  The Gift of Music

  Brandon Lagana

  195

  Our Community

  Christa F. Sandelier

  197

  7. Friends

  The Kids in the Hall

  Suzanne Casamento

  200

  My Sanctuary

  Eric Linder

  205

  My Friend Kim

  Robert Tate Miller

  207

  819 Gaffield Place

  Michele Bender

  211

  An Unlikely Hero

  Tony Luna

  216

  With Help from a Friend

  Dorri Olds

  220

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  8. Tough Stuff

  My Star

  Zan Gaudioso

  224

  Independence Day

  Natasha Carrie Cohen

  228

  #38 Chucky Mullins

  James Simmons

  231

  Zap the Sap!

  Eric Saperston

  235

  I Said No

  Natasha Carrie Cohen

  239

  The Rest of the Story

  Jo Wiley Cornell

  242

  Stuck with No Way Out

  Rosanne Martorella

  245

  9. Mind Over Matter

  Breaking the Mold

  Zan Gaudioso

  250

  A Better Message

  Carol Grace Anderson

  254

  Homeboy Goes to Harvard

  Richard Santana

  257

  From the Heart of a Blessed Temple

  B. T. Thomas

  261

  Second Kind of Mind

  JeVon Thompson

  263

  Work for Your Supper

  Arlene Green

  266

  Catsup Soup

  Cynthia Hamond

  271

  Student Super-Saverä

  Kevin Van Gundy

  273

  Dare to Take Risks!

  Stephen Hopson

  278

  Emma's Ducks

  Paul Karrer

  283

  Consider This

  Bill Clinton

  285

  All in the Family

  Jeanne Marie Laskas

  287

  Never Too Old to Live Your Dream

  Dan Clark

  290

  10. Graduation

  Life Lessons

  Dave Barry

  294

  A Homecoming of a Different Sort

  Vicki Niebrugge

  298

  Two Stories for Life

  Robert Fulghum

  301

  Humor Them!

  Katherine D. Ortega

  307

  Know Where You're Going!

  Speaker's Sourcebook II

  310

  Don't Go!

  George Plimpton

  312

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  More Chicken Soup?

  315

  Supporting College Students

  316

  Who Is Jack Canfield?

  320

  Who Is Mark Victor Hansen?

  321

  Who Is Kimberly Kirberger?

  323

  Who Is Dan Clark?

  324

  Contributing Editors

  325

  Contributors

  326

  Permissions (continued)

  337

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  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Chicken Soup for the College Soul took over a year to write, compile and edit. It has been a joyous and challenging task and we would like to thank the following people whose contributions have made it possible.

  Our life partners, Inga, Patty, John and Kelly, who have given us their love and support and who have helped us to keep our hearts open in the midst of all things.

  We would like to thank our children, Christopher, Oran, Kyle, Elisabeth, Melanie, Jesse, Danny, Nikola, McCall and Alexandrea, whose beauty of spirit and hope for a better future has inspired us to do whatever we can to ensure that their dreams come true.

  Georgia Noble, for being such a beautiful person and for sharing her heart with us.

  We would like to give a special thank-you to our contributing editors James Malinchak and Tony D'Angelo for their hard work and dedication to this book. Tony and James collected over one thousand stories, spread the word on college campuses around the country and continually contributed their time and expertise to making this the great book that it is. James and Tony, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

  Mitch Claspy, who did an extraordinary job reading,

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  researching and obtaining permissions. We deeply appreciate his support, his friendship, and his loving attention to this project and to us. This book could not have happened without his dedication, hard work and ability to do a hundred things all at one time. Mitch, thank you so much.

  Tasha Boucher, for being the most amazing assistant to Kimberly. Her attention to detail, her ability to do anything asked of her and her skill at doing it better than we can doesn't go unnoticed. Kimberly really couldn't do it without you, Tasha, and we thank you for your hard work and for your friendship.

  Jessie Braun, for her continued support and her sharp instinct that knows what works and what doesn't. Jessie, you are one of the finest college students we
know.

  Kelly Clark, who kept Dan Clark's office and life together while also contributing and helping with the many details that go into a project like this. Thank you so much, Kelly.

  Paula de Leon, for an outstanding job typing and preparing our initial manuscripts, and for assisting Kimberly and Mitch and making their lives run easier. Paula, thank you for your great attention to detail and your loyalty to this project.

  D. D. Dixon, for running the Teen Letter Project and being the kind and caring person that she is.

  Myra Raney, for being a beautiful spirit who assists us in all the day-to-day matters in Kim's office.

  Peter Vegso, for recognizing the value of this book from the beginning, and for getting it into the hands of millions of readers. Thank you, Peter!

  Patty Aubery, for always being there when we need her, as well as for keeping the whole Chicken Soup for the Soul central office up and running in the middle of what always feels like a tornado of activity. Thank you, Patty, from the bottom of our heartsalways.

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  Heather McNamara, senior editor of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, for her impeccable and insightful editing, and masterful preparation of the final manuscript. Heather, you are definitely a pro and a joy to work with!

  Nancy Autio, for her invaluable feedback and for obtaining the difficult permissions. We love working with you, Nancy.

  Leslie Forbes, who is always there when we need her and always has a smile on her face and love in her heart.

  Veronica Valenzuela and Robin Yerian, for working in Jack's office to make sure everything ran smoothly during the production of this book.

  Rosalie Miller, who kept all the communication flowing efficiently throughout this project. Rosalie, your smiling face and never-ending encouragement have lightened our hearts.

  Teresa Esparza, who brilliantly coordinated all of Jack's speaking, travel, and radio and television appearances during this time.

  Rebecca Hart and Zan Gaudioso, for their amazing feedback, their talented editing and their fresh perspectiveall of which added something special to this book.

  Tal Vigderson, for his brilliant edits and inputs on the stories in this book.

  Christine Belleris, Matthew Diener, Lisa Drucker and Allison Janse, our editors at Health Communications, Inc., for their generous efforts in bringing this book to its high state of excellence.

  Randee Feldman, Chicken Soup for the Soul product manager at Health Communications, Inc., for her masterful coordination and support of all the Chicken Soup projects.

  Terry Burke and Kelly Maragni at Health Communications, Inc., for their wonderful sales and marketing efforts.

  Andrea Perrine Brower at Health Communications, Inc., for working with us so patiently and cooperatively

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  on the cover design of this book.

  We also want to thank the following people who completed the monumental task of reading the preliminary manuscript of the book, helped us make the final selections, and made invaluable comments on how to improve the book. We could never have even come close to creating such a high quality book without all of them: Katie Leicht, Mimi Gill, Sharon Stead, Amy Yerkes, Kelly Garnett, Lia Gay, Clarissa Kerker, Traci Van Dyke, Sarah Reynolds, Dave Murcott, Kathleen Kelly, Tor Rockness, Brian Vanneman, Joy Tiare Jacobs, Lauren Rimkus, Alissa Zolla, Jamie Porter, Maryann Mendoza, Hana Ivanhoe, Fred Angelis, Jessie Braun and Amy Stroock.

  Other Chicken Soup coauthors: Patty and Jeff Aubery, Nancy Mitchell Autio, Marty Becker, Ron Camacho, Tim Clauss, Barbara De Angelis, Mark and Chrissy Donnelly, Irene Dunlap, Patty Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Carol Kline, Hanoch and Meladee McCarty, Heather McNamara, Maida Rogerson, Martin Rutte, Marci Shimoff, Barry Splichuk, Diana von Welanetz Wentworth.

  Larry and Linda Price, who, in addition to keeping Jack's Foundation for Self-Esteem operating smoothly, continue to administer the Soup Kitchens for the Soul project, which distributes thousands of Chicken Soup for the Soul books free each year to prisoners, halfway houses, homeless shelters, battered women's shelters, and inner-city schools.

  John and Shannon Tullius, John Saul, Mike Sacks, Bud Gardner, Dan Poynter, Bryce Courtney, Terry Brooks and all our other friends at the Maui Writer's Conference and Retreat who inspire and encourage us every year.

  Katie Tauro at Village Books, for her support and her dedication to literacy.

  Kim Weiss, who is a pleasure, a great publicist, and a great friend.