One of my best friends recently told me that John Muise – long-time instructor at St. Thomas University – is not returning to teach next year. St. Thomas University is not renewing his contract. For me, and for everything John has done for me, this is absolutely heartbreaking. I firmly believe that STU is making a mistake.
I just finished writing a long letter to them. In the hopes of reaching more people, I’m posting the letter here, as well. Plus, it serves to show just how much of a major influence John has been on my writing.
Before that title gets webheads all strung up, let me be clear: I like Spider-Man. I own some of his comics. Not many, but some. I liked the movies, but I didn’t go crazy for even Sam Raimi ones like others did. I don’t think the old 90s Spider-Man cartoon holds up in retrospect (I didn’t think it was great to begin with). And as a good gamer, I’ve enjoyed some of his games like Spider-Man 2 and Shattered Dimensions. I’ve known for years that while I like Spidey, I wouldn’t rank him high in my list of favourite superheroes. In fact, I don’t think he’d even make it into the top 20.
Well this is a pleasant surprise. I know I haven’t updated this danged blog in a long time. Without going into too much detail, depression has hit me hard in recent months.
The other day, I saw a poster for a small, local stage production called Redfish: A Comedy About Depression. When I looked it up online, I discovered the titular “Redfish” is a superhero. A play combining depression and superheroes? It’s like this was made for me. Luckily, I saw the play’s final showing this morning. I enjoyed it so much that I felt I needed to write a review about it and shout praises to all involved. And add a few minor criticisms which – like I would – I’m sure they’ll take way too much to heart than I intend.
My family moved to Summerside, Prince Edward Island when I started Grade 7. For most of the next six years, I thought I hated living there. I hated my neighbourhood because at least half of the boys that bullied me lived in or around the area. I hated winters (then again, I don’t like winter in general). I felt like a foreigner in a strange land reigned supreme by Gallants and Aresenaults (the two most common family names in PEI; it’s kind of a running joke). Most Islanders not only lived there all their life but also generations of their family.
Nick Piers 