Charles van Heck's Woodhull Journal

  • A Baker’s Tale

    Take an early morning walk down Evoraberg’s Main Street when the only stoplight in town is flashing yellow. The glow of street lights create haloes on the road. Darkened storefront display windows stare empty-eyed as if in a trance. A car slips past, its tires whine as it fades into the predawn darkness. The October

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  • Remembering Susan

    I fell in love with her voice.  A raspy voice, the type of voice that made me want to pull up a chair at the kitchen table. “Have some cranberry relish,” she might be saying, as she did every Thanksgiving. And if you closed your eyes, you could imagine her passing a bowl. Susan had

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  • The American Cyrus and the Week that Was

    This week began on Monday with the release of Israeli hostages. Joy marred by loss, sorrow, the memories of those who were killed on 7 October, the Israeli soldiers wounded and killed in Gaza, the hostages returned earlier, and those hostages whose remains have yet to be returned for proper burial. A time of joy

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  • Fail Safe in an AI World

    “Things are in the saddle and ride mankind.” Emerson This October 16th through the 28th marks the 63rd anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. For thirteen days, the world stood on the brink of nuclear war. On the sixth day of the nuclear standoff, a chilling book titled Fail Safe was published. The authors were

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  • Dilexi Te:The Invisible Among Us

    The other evening, my wife arrived home with bags of groceries from the market that we will donate to a food bank for distribution. An act of kindness. A moral imperative. More importantly, an expression of love and faith. And for my wife and I, it is also an act of remembrance of both those

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  • Diversity, Freedom and the Chorus for Union

    Those who know me are aware that I firmly believe in the separation of Church and State. Christian nationalists irritate me with their bending and misinterpretation of the Gospels. They misconstrue the Constitution and misconceive their liberties to fit their understanding of what it means to be an American. Those of us living in the

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  • The Whispers Grow Louder: Democracy at a Tipping Point

    We have been hearing whispers coming from the White House about invoking the Insurrection Act over the past eight months. Regretfully, the whispers have grown louder. Joseph Nunn of the Brennan Center for Justice has written an informative article explaining the Insurrection Act that I hope you will read. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/insurrection-act-explained I have written about dissent

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  • Living in the Virtual World

    Early one morning, I took a virtual stroll (more accurately, scroll) through the village of Richburg, New York. An article in The Wellsville Sun about a house on the market precipitated my walk. I decided to stop by the cemetery to pay my respects to family buried there. A virtual stroll. While clicking the arrows,

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  • It’s Time to Retire the Donkey

    Senators, Congressional representatives, and governors are known to stare in a mirror. “Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who’s the most qualified of all?”  in the hope of finding a president looking back at them. They are an ambitious lot. A few receive a wink and a nod, “You are, my fairest,” from the reflected image.

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  • Sounding the Shofar: How Then Shall We Live?

    The other morning, I found a note in my mailbox from a dear friend. The subject raised for discussion pertained to confession and absolution. This is a timely message as we are in the period of the High Holy Days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. These are ten days of reflection, atonement, and absolution.

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