Quiet kindness of letting it be

Quiet kindness of letting it be

“Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true.”

Robert Brault

“Annie,” I say, pointing upward to indicate I will be referencing the soundtrack of Come From Away we’re listening to.

I steal a glance at my soulful daughter and continue, “This version has more in it than I’m used to.”

“No, this is the same one,” she replies, as we work on organizing the garage together. She pauses, then insists, “No. It’s the same.”

It’s not.
I know it’s not.

The version that we’re listening to has some verses and dialogue that had been cut from the Come From Away album stored on my iPhone, dating from the days when we carefully managed our music libraries.

As Spotify streams words that I don’t remember in the number “38 Planes,” I resist the urge to pull out my phone to prove I’m right.

“Oh,” I say.

Flash Bang

✧✧✧ 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,

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Hiawatha Johnson, JR.

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

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The Delay

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. *

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