“Reg Hartt is an island unto himself,” a fellow was told. The comment was not meant as a compliment. Every kick is a free boost forward. Thich Nhat Hanh has written, “When he was eighty, the Buddha knew that he was going to pass away in a few months, and he knew that his disciples were going to miss him. During the last six months, around the city of Vaisali, he used to talk to the monks and the nuns about taking refuge within yourself. The expression is atadipa. Ata means self, dipa means island. When you go back to that island, you experience peace and stability. The Buddha is there, the Dharma is there, and the Sangha is there.” Yes, Reg Hartt IS an island unto himself.
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John Smialek R.I.P. November 9th, 2019.
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I expect people younger than myself to hear of my death.
I do not expect, as I did just now, to hear of their deaths.
I have lost three friends recently. It began with my friend Tim Slater at whose memorial here I saw for the last time the wonderful Kai Wolfram.
This morning I saw a note attached to A video I filmed by chance. Lucky chance, more so than I realized.
jon cee
To my Long Lost beautifully eccentric and fantastic artistic Friend…you will be greatly missed for who you were as well as what you gave us …to The Leaping Men…leap highest my Friend…John Smialek R.I.P. November 9th, 2019.
John enriched my life. I hope I enriched his.
Give your friends a hug. We don’t know how suddenly they can depart us forever.
One night when I was doing my programs at THE DIAMOND CLUB (Now THE PHOENIX) in Toronto, Canada a young woman came up to me after.
“Is that all there is?” she asked.
I replied, “Yes, that’s it.”
She said, “I heard there was more. I heard there was someone who talked.”
“Sometimes he does. Sometimes he does not,” I replied.
She said, “Well, I heard he was pretty good. That’s why I am here.”
I said to myself, “I like her. She’s got spunk.”
I invited her to join me for a beer.
She told me she was living in Whitby and working in Toronto.
I said, “I have a room.”
She took it.
Her name was Sonia. She was that particular kind of Spanish beauty that made men young and old stand up straight and comb their hair.
She was a joy to live with.
Had I spoken I would not have met her.
The person who had told her what I had to say is worth hearing was John Smialek.
Had I spoken to Sonja I would not have met John.
Had I not spoken when John came to my program I would not have met either of them.
James Joyce said, “The man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are ones of conscious choice and open new doors.”
Yes, they are. Yes, they do.
John was a joy to live with. He was a joy to know.
