Chats with Larry Episode 14

On today’s RABBI BRIAN’S CHATS WITH LARRY

Audio quality is okay today (you both sound like you’re on the phone). Larry was really tired, so you didn’t talk for long (just over 9mins). You mention going Christmas tree shopping which could date the episode.

Quote from George Zimmel “excessive physic stimulation”
The French work (sorry Brian I can’t tell what the word is) Larry says it literally means no law I’m hoping you know it.
Contemplating your navel
Find meaning or you end up seeking pleasure
What people talk about on their deathbed

Flash Bang

February 6, 2026

✧✧✧ My buddy Marc meets me near my house at 3:30 on Saturday afternoon so we can bike to the small park named for Elizabeth Caruthers. I looked her up as I started to write this article. Elizabeth Caruthers was an early pioneer woman whose Supreme Court case led to the 1850 Donation Act—ruling that a woman, married or not,

Hiawatha Johnson, JR.

January 31, 2026

January 2026 — Portland, ORE Hiawatha Johnson, Jr., a mentor and friend died. Summer 1985 — Magic Camp Oakdale, Long Island I’m 15. He’s 30. He wears a dashiki. He uses a walking stick. I’m prepubescent. I listen to comedy cassettes on a Walkman. I’m in awe. ✧✧✧ I perform a rather banal magic act that year — me narrating

The Delay

January 14, 2026

2026 issue #03 — The Delay I’m in my buddy David’s car. He’s driving me from my mom’s apartment in NYC to Newark, NJ, where I’m going to catch a plane back home to Portland. David and I have been friends for fifty years. Amazing. My phone dings. I look at it. Nothing important. Just an alert from United. *