Forgive me if this is difficult to read. I’ve just seen a headline about another mass shooting. Sadly, there are so many that it feels almost casual to scroll by the news. I’ve been affected by gun violence. Its long-lasting consequences are not casual. When I was 7 years old, my mother was shot during […]

I’ve written “Meetinghouse” stories before, using as byline “Lee Van Dyke.” Sometimes, though, I can still hear my mother’s strict, harsh, piercing tones speaking my entire baptized name: “Leon J. Van Dyke, how could you?” I was born Calvinist, in a strict Dutch Reformed church. Calvinism has “original sin” as a fundamental premise, discourages all […]

“I hate you, you’re not my mom!” I once shouted at my stepmother, looking her straight in the eyes for any hint of hatred back. The corners of her mouth curled inward, a sign she disapproved of my behavior, but she ignored me and continued cleaning the kitchen at a furious pace. When I was […]

One of the best things to happen in my life was beginning violin lessons at 6 years old. At 12, the local symphony invited me to join. Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” was on the music stand and I had never heard it or played it. In the beginning the music was building tension and then […]