My thanks to all of you who responded to my short but urgent request yesterday. I deeply appreciate it. And I know that your prayers were answered. Many of you know that our middle child, Gavin (now 21), almost died from cancer in the summer/fall of 2024, having been given about a 40-50% of survival with aggressive chemo. Since his full recovery in October of that year, he has been working long hours (as a cook). I had not seen him for a few months, but we had a lengthy text conversation three days ago. Yesterday morning, I got a call: Gavin and a friend had been in a very serious one-car accident in Eugene. His friend, the driver, was killed instantly. (Please pray for his soul; it's a horrific situation.) Some who saw the aftermath have stated in FB posts how shocked they were that anyone survived the wreck, as the car drove directly into a large tree just off the freeway. Gavin suffered a broken vertebra, a badly broken left hand, several deep bruises, and a brain bleed. Thankfully, the bleed appears to be "minor". Yesterday afternoon/evening, he underwent about six hours of surgery for his back and hand. Both surgeries were deemed successful by the doctors. My wife and I visited Gavin today, and it was heartbreaking. Of course, we're deeply relieved that he's alive. But to see him, once again, in a hospital bed, broken and bruised and in pain, was tough, to say the least. Because he was sedated, he was not very lucid, but we spent some time with him and told him that we loved him. It appears that he will make a strong physical recovery. But our deeper concern is for his spiritual and emotional well-being. These are the sort of events that can impact and shape one's life in a variety of ways. Please keep him in your prayers if you are able, and I will provide updates. God bless you all.

From my short but fun @cworldreport interview with the wonderful Dale Ahlquist about his new @IgnatiusPress book: CWR: Why did you feel another autobiography of Chesterton was necessary? Ahlquist: Maybe “worthwhile” is a better word than “necessary.” Nobody complains that Rembrandt painted more than one self-portrait. CWR: But you point out that some people are “disappointed,” as it were, by Chesterton’s original autobiography. Ahlquist: Well, there is the repeated criticism that he showed notable neglect of the main character in that book. It seems it was easy for him to write about anything other than himself. CWR: So you, in effect, found a way to get him to talk about himself. Ahlquist: Rather, I snuck up on him and caught him talking about himself while he was talking about everything else. CWR: Will readers find anything new in this book? Ahlquist: They will find new stuff from Chesterton that they’ve never read before. I make it a point to draw primarily from his uncollected writings. Most of the material that comprises this volume has not been seen for over a century. CWR: What are some of the surprises? Ahlquist: I’ll give you a doubly disappointing answer. First, the most surprising, even astonishing thing about Chesterton is how utterly consistent he is. He simply does not contradict himself; he only confirms himself. So in that sense, he says nothing new, even if he says the same thing in a new way. But that is one reason people enjoy reading him and keep reading him. They want more of the same. However, there are some surprises in this book–but I’m not going to give away any of them! CWR: Not even one little one? Ahlquist: Okay, Chesterton once met Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. I’ll bet no one knew that.