Charles van Heck
-
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
-
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
-
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 humanities place in creation. Wendell Berry succinctly captures this when he observes: “Old… Continue reading
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
On Libraries and Freedom
I hesitated in the grip of withdrawals. “Go! Get out!” Lynn Tanaka firmly told me on my final day on Mayne Island. Taking a few reluctant steps towards the door, my eyes locked on the neatly arranged shelves in her… Continue reading
-
The Running Man
EXPECTATIONS, EXCEPTIONS & DEPORTATION It happened quickly. He knew the risks, but what choice did he have? There was a family to feed. Maybe today, they wouldn’t notice him. He kept to the speed limit. Then, in the review mirror,… Continue reading
-
THE RULE DIALOGUES
THE RULE DIALOGUES She was a stranger I encountered in the Miners Bay Book shop on Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada. Over the next three months, she was my Saturday morning breakfast companion at the Sunny Mayne Bakery Café. Each… Continue reading
Charles van Heck's Woodhull Journal 