Latest Posts
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The Frail Figure at the Door
Good songs survive time because they are strong. The lyrics speak to us even after the passage of time. This morning, while listening to Johnny Cash’s Cash Unearthed produced by Rick Ruben, the stories my grandparents told me came to… Continue reading
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Elbows Up with Chocolate & Beer
by Carl ten Hoopen Chocolate and beer slip uneasily into essays. They are topics that glide easily to our attention when pushing a cart down the grocery aisle, attending a hockey game, or dining at the Queen & Beaver Public… Continue reading
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Muggers, Pretzels, and the Integrity of A Small Newspaper
Censors sneak up right before your eyes in broad daylight. They aren’t figures lurking in a dark alley on a rainy night waiting to mug you as you make your way from a subway entrance. The censors wear tailored suits.… Continue reading
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Friends & Taking a Vacation with a Postscript
Friends & Taking A Vacation I am often surprised when asked if Carl ten Hoopen is a real person. Be assured that he is. Any doubts that you have may be due to the photograph he asked me to use… Continue reading
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While Canada Burns, Washington Fumes
This morning, I received a letter from a friend in Canada. He was polite, as he typically is, but I could hear the anger when he asked, “These are Congressmen?” His question was raised in response to a letter six… Continue reading
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The Ties That Bind: The Earthly Gifts and the Stories We Need to Hear
In the American imagination, small town, rural living offers a slower lifestyle in close knit communities, and affordable living. This idealized perception misses the deeper reality of humanity’s place in creation. Wendell Berry succinctly captures this when he observes: “Old… Continue reading
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A Hospital Morning With Poetry
This morning was hospital day. This is when I make the mortgage and car payments for the doctors. A friend of mine always receives hugs when she meets with the nurses and doctors. I was greeted with a cheerful, “Good… Continue reading
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Bone Spur (The Movie) El Espolón Óseo (La película)
Scene: A dust swirl drifts across a field. Through the dust we see a ranch house. Two children are playing in the yard. A young woman is milking a goat. An older woman cooking on a grill and oven outdoors.… Continue reading
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The Treacherous Connoisseur: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery
One morning⸺ it was on the fifteenth of May⸺ I was returning from visiting a colleague in Oxford when I entered that well-known door on Baker Street. Violin music, played with fierce energy, wafted from those rooms Sherlock Holmes inhabited.… Continue reading
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Trump Plays Mousetrap in Flip-Flops like Wilie E. Coyote Chasing the Roadrunner
June 14th will be remembered in history as a turning point. The assassination of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark. The attempted assassination of Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. This was the day… Continue reading
Charles van Heck's Woodhull Journal 