Mark Marchand

Read more about the article New book: A novel involving two of the 20th century’s most important events
The cover of my new novel (Created by Deanna Gallaro)

New book: A novel involving two of the 20th century’s most important events

This week I published my first novel, and second book. Now available as an ebook and paperback on Amazon, the story involves two of the 20th century’s most important events: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and NASA’s successful manned Moon-landing program. “The Answer From Surveyor 3” is a tense, suspenseful mystery surrounding the real story of those two events. The tale starts by asking the question: What if someone were accidentally present when Oswald fired those fatal shots from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas?…

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Read more about the article Racing to a better future
The author, running a cross-country race in fall 1972 at Chicopee Comprehensive High School in Massachusetts.

Racing to a better future

As I turned our car right to leave Stanley Park in Westfield, Massachusetts, recently, that most precious type of memory sprang to mind. The memory hadn’t surfaced for nearly half a century, and it burst forth so suddenly and dramatically I momentarily forgot I was driving a car. I was lost in a vivid recollection of an epic road race I ran in that very park back in 1972. What mattered wasn’t the race itself or the outcome. Instead, it was the decision, for the first time in my 17 years, to…

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Read more about the article Remembering my meeting with John Lewis, the iconic civil rights warrior

Remembering my meeting with John Lewis, the iconic civil rights warrior

The Daily Gazette newspaper in Schenectady, N.Y. published a column I wrote, recalling my meeting with John Lewis in 2013 and reflecting on his career in the wake of his passing. He was a guiding light for me, and he will be missed. GUEST COLUMN: A brush with greatness: John Lewis was a guiding light Late civil rights leader shared his wisdom July 29, 2020 For The Daily Gazette When civil rights icon John Lewis died July 17, I couldn’t help but think about how the flow of time relentlessly severs links…

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Read more about the article The opioid crisis: words matter

The opioid crisis: words matter

This is an Op Ed I researched and wrote, which appeared in the Times-Union newspaper of Albany, N.Y. today. A link to the original post is at the end. Words and language are powerful tools at our disposal. That’s why I’ve spent a fair amount of my life writing, reading, teaching, and studying our amazing English language. Coupled with multiple platforms we use to exchange words – ranging from print to social media to the internet itself – we swap ideas, information, thoughts, multi-media and so many other forms of communication instantly…

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Read more about the article The 50th anniversary of landing on the Moon – A personal reflection

The 50th anniversary of landing on the Moon – A personal reflection

It’s been a half century since we landed on the Moon. It was an important moment in my life and, I suspect, for millions of others. I have spent years studying the nine-year NASA program, leading up to the Apollo 11 landing on July 20, 1969. During that time, I have read hundreds of historical records, books, and other accounts of this amazing achievement for humankind, attempting to find some sort of personal meaning. I wrote about it in this Op Ed published last weekend in the Times-Union daily newspaper in Albany,…

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