Pals, I lost a loved one. An uncomplicated relationship. My first MFA creative writing teacher. Nance Van Winckel. I am really sad and feeling sadder as time passes.

It brings back happy memories too and as I remember her, I can almost convince myself I am in my room during my creative writing program. It is kind of interesting how similar the arrangement of the furniture is to my apartment now.

I will post on facebook and the tribute page soon but it is going to take me some time to think about this. I am imagining Nance with the children’s book animals in heaven, and I think she is a special person there.

She came from a Presbyterian family but was atheist. I believe she is in heaven. She was really funny and something cool about her religious humor is that she didn’t make me feel responsible for her salvation. That is what some people’s atheism is about. It is about torturing people who care about their spiritual life. But I believe Nance was different and connected with me in a religious humor zone. It was very comical.

I think the school might have seen potential in me to be the punk evangelical writer who writes stories where the religious person goes to the strip club to pass out tracts and then scrogs all the people at one time.

But I did not become that. I stayed innocent and my books will be handed to teens from someone who was always a children’s book writer. I mean how cute for all of us. 

I will miss Nance Van Winckel and probably pray to her sometimes.