<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Journey's Echo]]></title><description><![CDATA[Exploring Journeys of Land and Spirit]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.net/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2026 22:20:35 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.michaelmccolly.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[1869 Podcast, Episode 175 with author Michael McColly discussing his new book “Walking Chicago’s Coast”]]></title><description><![CDATA[Listen to the podcast on Cornell University Press  or Soundcloud Michael McColly's essays have appeared in The New York Times, the Boston Review, and The Sun magazine. He is the author of the Lambda Literary Award–winning memoir The After-Death Room, chronicling his journey reporting on AIDS activism in Africa, Asia, and the United States. We spoke to Michael about how your perception radically changes when you move through the world with intention, how his 63-mile journey through Chicago...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/1869-podcast-episode-175-with-author-michael-mccolly-discussing-his-new-book-walking-chicago-s-coa</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69120e848cc409ab93eaf60e</guid><pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 16:18:26 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b6c728_74118da52a584090a6b1d7fed8324b3a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_600,h_600,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>assistantmichaelmc</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Swimming Divide]]></title><description><![CDATA[Swimming is not only a pleasurable form of recreation, particularly in open bodies of water like Lake Michigan, but it also has multiple benefits for the mind and body. Not all Chicagoans, however, have access to this wilderness of blue that borders our city to the east and south. The sad reality is that nearly half of the children and adults in this city have never learned how to swim and thus have no access to the joys of lake swimming. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/18/opinion-lake...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/the-swimming-divide</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a88b1aae343daf32b81e77d</guid><pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2026 20:53:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_c4eff51e34814e40aa0a2efc2f5b3bbb~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>michaelmccolly0</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Watching The World Cup in Senegal]]></title><description><![CDATA[https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/08/opinion-world-cup-memories-senegal/?share=gorir6cecritwiepwr0t Every four years when the World Cup rolls around, no matter where in the world I am watching — in a pub in England, in a crowded restaurant in Spain or in a bar in Chicago — my mind always conjures up images of that night in Senegal where I saw my first match on a portable black-and-white TV hooked up to a truck battery.]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/watching-the-world-cup-in-senegal</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a7c7ccd60971ea08f90c241</guid><pubDate>Wed, 12 Aug 2026 14:08:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_e73e7f601124453ea3d7d6e3df4aadc9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>michaelmccolly0</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Interview with Gary Writer &#38; Filmmaker Sam Love]]></title><description><![CDATA[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QecCNArsKFg]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/interview-with-gary-writer-filmmaker-sam-love</link><guid isPermaLink="false">695c83e3ef35928416b1802d</guid><pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 11:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_4f76751fd4f1413690ef6c50f94b289c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>michaelmccolly0</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Healing Power of Walking]]></title><description><![CDATA[What I learned from letting my legs walk me back to health. https://www.poz.com/article/healing-power-walking]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/the-healing-power-of-walking</link><guid isPermaLink="false">693c6d8638266d8ba62451b8</guid><pubDate>Fri, 12 Dec 2025 19:40:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_3fabc026470e466aaf2abf8d142f35f8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>michaelmccolly0</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Author Walked 63 Miles down Lake Michigan Coast]]></title><description><![CDATA[Author Michael McColly at the Indiana Dunes. Photo by Tuong Nguyen]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/author-walked-63-miles-down-lake-michigan-coast</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6939ed5a52e0714bcdd42a0c</guid><pubDate>Wed, 10 Dec 2025 22:38:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_d5bb02d85f8c4305bfad1f094fe97cba~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_800,h_531,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>michaelmccolly0</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Walking For a Greater Purpose Podcast]]></title><description><![CDATA[Conversation with Frank Ring, Walker and Podcaster, on Walking Chicago's Coas t. Discussions focuses on the the healing powers of walking on the body and the mind.]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/walking-for-a-greater-purpose-podcast</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6939e699648729fef52862f6</guid><pubDate>Wed, 10 Dec 2025 21:40:26 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrbm0AQxwN0" length="0" type="video"/><dc:creator>michaelmccolly0</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[“Lost in East Chicago,” Excerpted from “Walking Chicago’s Coast” by Michael McColly]]></title><description><![CDATA[Blending travelogue, memoir, and environmental reportage, Walking Chicago’s Coast takes readers on an urban journey. Michael McColly...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/lost-in-east-chicago-excerpted-from-walking-chicago-s-coast-by-michael-mccolly</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68cc1becaef6910f9dd34846</guid><pubDate>Thu, 18 Sep 2025 14:52:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_bdac59f9d8a9492d817447706246b75f~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Michael McColly</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[I Walked the length of Chicago]]></title><description><![CDATA[Op-ed in Chicago Tribune 8/23/25 on the social and environmental benefits of walking in cities.]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/exploring-walking-chicago-s-coast-a-reader-s-journey</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68aa2ad2e0731e33266641ba</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Aug 2025 20:55:46 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_c569a92fc20c41b98a05497c3bbcd2a8~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[“Lessons for a Tukkikat”]]></title><description><![CDATA[Alone, on long walks, the memories still come to me,  arising out of the streets of Chicago or along the pilgrim’s path of Santiago,...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/lessons-for-a-tukkikat</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68b07eb6a7acf6efd301257d</guid><pubDate>Sun, 03 Aug 2025 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_e73e7f601124453ea3d7d6e3df4aadc9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Michael McColly</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Caring in Viral Times]]></title><description><![CDATA[Amid widespread indifference toward the most vulnerable, even small acts of kindness can make a difference.  L ike her mother, who had...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/uncovering-chicago-s-coast-insights-from-the-author</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68aa2ad11ef02eaf6d159900</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Dec 2020 21:55:45 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_bf000bf392c942f8b40063bddd51974a~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Michael McColly</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Walking in Indianapolis]]></title><description><![CDATA[From 71st St. to the Circle and back — walking Indy The promise and problems of Indy's 'Open Road' Last summer, I was sitting in what was...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/walking-in-indianapolis</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68b07944035364d38b2b25d7</guid><pubDate>Sun, 15 Nov 2015 16:47:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_14fa95447ac746f286565e14cb70ef6d~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Michael McColly</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[In the Heat of the City: Remembering Eugene Williams]]></title><description><![CDATA[“It is a terrible, an inexorable, law that one cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one’s own: in the face of one’s...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/in-the-heat-of-the-city-remembering-eugene-williams</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68b07ac8035364d38b2b2b25</guid><pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2015 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_4218addc920a45cbb9b3aa74ba881a6f~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_600,h_217,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Michael McColly</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[             The Last Village by the Lake]]></title><description><![CDATA[Lying in my bed late into the night, if I hold my body still and concentrate, I can hear the waves of Lake Michigan. I wait for the El to...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/the-last-village-by-the-lake</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68b07c0528d6941ff73d806d</guid><pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2014 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_88f0728764c94507a59249ceda29bf91~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Michael McColly</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Losing The Trail]]></title><description><![CDATA[We finally find her by the side of the road, standing in a clump of chalk-blue chicory, fingering yellow coneflowers, a few feet from a...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/losing-the-trail</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68af5dace8493793f50572e7</guid><pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 2013 19:41:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/288d3d_d0fc627e8c8e4547a00d536c2b165c54~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Michael McColly</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[         We Decided To Call It Baseball]]></title><description><![CDATA[The day after my mother told him the news, he called. His voice cracked, and I could hear him trying to pick up his words and hand them...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelmccolly.com/post/we-decided-to-call-it-baseball</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68b07d3228d6941ff73d8467</guid><pubDate>Sun, 07 Apr 2002 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ef11dad1ab0a475d89467200727069eb.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Michael McColly</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>