The Open Road: a learning community

peace, love, happiness & understanding 6/4/26
2026-06-03 - 2026-07-01
Larry Yes & his Radical Positivity installation

THE OPEN ROAD
peace, love, happiness & understanding

The day will come when we all agree
that we should live in harmony
and we will know and we will see
how we’re all connected. We’re all family.
All the people, the plants, the animals, the birds, the seas.

—from the song “Live in Harmony” on the album “Everyone on This Planet Is Family” by Larry Yes

June 4, 2026

Ken Margolis gave me a copy of the Spring 2026 issue of “Emergency Horse,” which contained an article by David Turnbull on the Republic of Užupis. Užupis is a “micro-nation” or “artistic republic,” occupying about two and-a-half square miles in the center of Vilnius, which I’m sure you know is the capital of Lithuania. Ken and I both fully endorse the Constitution of Užupis which, when translated into English, reads:

Everyone has the right to live by the River Vilnelė, and the River Vilnelė has the right to flow by everyone.
Everyone has the right to hot water, heating in winter and a tiled roof.
Everyone has the right to die, but this is not an obligation.
Everyone has the right to make mistakes.
Everyone has the right to be unique.
Everyone has the right to love.
Everyone has the right not to be loved, but not necessarily.
Everyone has the right to be undistinguished and unknown.
Everyone has the right to be idle.
Everyone has the right to love and take care of the cat.
Everyone has the right to look after the dog until one of them dies.
A dog has the right to be a dog.
A cat is not obliged to love its owner, but must help in time of need.
Sometimes everyone has the right to be unaware of their duties.
Everyone has the right to be in doubt, but this is not an obligation.
Everyone has the right to be happy.
Everyone has the right to be unhappy.
Everyone has the right to be silent.
Everyone has the right to have faith.
No one has the right to violence.
Everyone has the right to appreciate their unimportance.
No one has the right to have a design on eternity.
Everyone has the right to understand.
Everyone has the right to understand nothing.
Everyone has the right to be of any nationality.
Everyone has the right to celebrate or not celebrate their birthday.
Everyone shall remember their name.
Everyone may share what they possess.
No one can share what they do not possess.
Everyone has the right to have brothers, sisters and parents.
Everyone may be independent.
Everyone is responsible for their freedom.
Everyone has the right to cry.
Everyone has the right to be misunderstood.
No one has the right to make another person guilty.
Everyone has the right to be individual.
Everyone has the right to have no rights.
Everyone has the right to not to be afraid.
Do not defeat
Do not fight back
Do not surrender

*

The Constitution of Užupis reminded me of Eduardo Galeano’s “The Right to Dream.” Eduardo Galeano is author of the astonishing, beautiful, heartbreaking and inspiring 3- volume history of Latin America, Memory of Fire.

The Right to Dream

In 1948 and again in 1976, the United Nations proclaimed long lists of human rights, but the immense majority of humanity enjoys only the rights to see, hear and remain silent. Suppose we start by exercising the never-proclaimed right to dream? Suppose we rave a bit? Let’s set our sights beyond the abominations of today to divine another possible world:

the air shall be cleansed of all poisons except those born of human fears and human passions;
in the streets, cars shall be run over by dogs;
people shall not be driven by cars, or programmed by computers, or bought by supermarkets, or watched by televisions;
the TV set shall no longer be the most important member of the family and shall be treated like an iron or a washing machine;
people shall work for a living instead of living for work;
written into law shall be the crime of stupidity, committed by those who live to have or to win, instead of living just to live like the bird that sings without knowing it and the child who plays unaware that he or she is playing;
in no country shall young men who refuse to go to war go to jail, rather only those who want to make war;
economists shall not measure living standards by consumption levels or the quality of life by the quantity of things;
cooks shall not believe that lobsters love to be boiled alive;
historians shall not believe that countries love to be invaded;
politicians shall not believe that the poor love to eat promises;
earnestness shall no longer be a virtue, and no-one shall be taken seriously who can’t make fun of himself;
death and money shall lose their magical powers, and neither demise nor fortune shall make a virtuous gentleman of a rat;
no-one shall be considered a hero or a fool for doing what he believes is right instead of what serves him best;
the world shall wage war not on the poor but rather on poverty, and the arms industry shall have no alternative but to declare bankruptcy;
food shall not be a commodity nor shall communications be a business, because food and communication are human rights;
no-one shall die of hunger, because no-one shall die of overeating;
street children shall not be treated like garbage, because there shall be no street children;
rich kids shall not be treated like gold, because there shall be no rich kids;
education shall not be the privilege of those who can pay;
the police shall not be the curse of those who cannot pay;
justice and liberty, Siamese twins condemned to live apart, shall meet again and be reunited, back to back;
a woman, a black woman, shall be president of Brazil, and another black woman shall be president of the United States; an Indian woman shall govern Guatemala and another Peru;
in Argentina, the crazy women of the Plaza de Mayo shall be held up as examples of mental health because they refused to forget in a time of obligatory amnesia;
the Church, holy mother, shall correct the typos on the tablet of Moses and the Sixth Commandment shall dictate the celebration of the body;
the Church shall also proclaim another commandment, the one God forgot: You shall love nature, to which you belong;
clothed with forests shall be the deserts of the world and of the soul;
the despairing shall be paired and the lost shall be found, for they are the ones who despaired and lost their way from so much lonely seeking;
we shall be compatriots and contemporaries for all who have a yearning for justice and beauty, no matter where they were born or where they lived, because the borders of geography and time shall cease to exist;
perfection shall remain the boring privilege of the gods, while in our bungling, messy world every night shall be lived as if it were the last and every day as if it were the first.

—Eduardo Galeano (born: September 3, 1940; died: April 13, 2015)
*

Eduardo Galeano’s “The Right to Dream” reminded me of Larry Yes’ song “Live in Harmony” and I thought I might include the lyrics in this issue, but then I wondered if I had already done that in a previous issue. I had. I found it by going to the Open Road website, clicking on EVENTS, and typing in “Live in Harmony.” In the 2025 June issue—exactly one year ago—you can find the lyrics to two of Larry’s songs, “Live in Harmony” and “Free: Everyone on This Planet is Family.” In that same issue, there are more inspiring words from Nick Swift, Dustin Jamison, Rocky Hutchinson, Ken Margolis and Jude Russell. (Since that time, both Rocky and Dustin have gotten out of prison. Hooray!!!) Here’s a link to that issue:

https://openroadpdx.com/event/peace-love-happiness-understanding-6-5-25/

The whimsy in these lists—“A dog has a right to be a dog” and “in the streets, cars shall be run over by dogs”—reminds me of the whimsy of Borges’ Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge, an “ancient Chinese encyclopedia,” where animals are divided into the following categories:

a) those that belong to the Emperor
b) embalmed ones
c) those that are trained
d) suckling pigs
e) sirens (or mermaids)
f) fabulous ones
g) stray dogs
h) those included in the present classification
i) those that tremble as if they were mad
j) innumerable ones
k) those drawn with a very fine camelhair brush
l) others
m) those that have just broken a flower vase
n) those that from a long way off look like flies

—Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986)
*

…which, by a mysterious alchemy in my brain, reminds me of…

Ode to things

I have a crazy,
crazy love of things.
I like pliers,
and scissors.
I love
cups,
rings,
and bowls –
not to speak, or course,
of hats.
I love
all things,
not just
the grandest,
also
the
infinite-
ly
small –
thimbles,
spurs,
plates,
and flower vases.

Oh yes,
the planet
is sublime!
It’s full of pipes
weaving
hand-held
through tobacco smoke,
and keys
and salt shakers –
everything,
I mean,
that is made
by the hand of man, every little thing:
shapely shoes,
and fabric,
and each new
bloodless birth
of gold,
eyeglasses
carpenter’s nails,
brushes,
clocks, compasses,
coins, and the so-soft
softness of chairs.

Mankind has
built
oh so many
perfect
things!
Built them of wool
and of wood,
of glass and
of rope:
remarkable
tables,
ships, and stairways.

I love
all
things,
not because they are
passionate
or sweet-smelling
but because,
I don’t know,
because
this ocean is yours,
and mine;
these buttons
and wheels
and little
forgotten
treasures,
fans upon
whose feathers
love has scattered
its blossoms,
glasses, knives and
scissors –
all bear
the trace
of someone’s fingers
on their handle or surface,
the trace of a distant hand
lost
in the depths of forgetfulness.

I pause in houses,
streets and
elevators
touching things,
identifying objects
that I secretly covet;
this one because it rings,
that one because
it’s as soft
as the softness of a woman’s hip,
that one there for its deep-sea color,
and that one for its velvet feel.

O irrevocable
river
of things:
no one can say
that I loved
only
fish,
or the plants of the jungle and the field,
that I loved
only
those things that leap and climb, desire, and survive.
It’s not true:
many things conspired
to tell me the whole story.
Not only did they touch me,
or my hand touched them:
they were
so close
that they were a part
of my being,
they were so alive with me
that they lived half my life
and will die half my death.

—Pablo Neruda (1904-1973)

¡Bibliophilia!
2026-06-13 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Read any good books lately? What are your favorite books of all time? What books changed the way you understand and experience the world? Join Johnny for a lively dialogue about books

It’s gonna be FUN!.

¡Bibliophilia! Johnny Stallings hosts a conversation about books. There will be snacks.
Saturday, June 13, 2 pm
Artspace Room at Taborspace, 5441 SE Belmont
This Open Road event is free!

Monica Faricy! 6/16/26-8/23/26
2026-06-16 - 2026-08-23

A Midsummer Night's Dream
2026-06-18 - 2026-06-28

Consider This: Naomi Shihab Nye 6/18/26
2026-06-18 19:00 - 21:00
Open Road Recommends: Consider This. Naomi Shihab Nye reads from her work.
Thursday, June 18, 7 pm
Alberta Rose Theater
Tickets and info: https://albertarosetheatre.com/calendar (Sold Out)

An Artist Responds to War (film screening online) 6/20/26-7/12/26
2026-06-20 - 2026-07-12
Click here to get tickets for an opportunity–(between June 20th & July 12th)–to watch this 45-minute film online:

https://kinema.com/events/AN-ARTIST-RESPONDS-TO-WAR-bmyjsw

peace & love

Johnny

Naomi Shihab Nye & Kim Stafford: A Reading and Conversation 6/20/26
2026-06-20 18:30 - 20:00
Naomi Shihab Nye & Kim Stafford: A Reading and Conversation
Saturday, June 20, 2026, 6:30pm

Sanctuary Hall, First Congregational UCC (1126 SW Park Ave, Portland)
General Admission $15 | Student $8
Book signing to follow | ASL interpretation provided

Join two beloved voices in American poetry for an evening of reading and conversation rooted in legacy, humanity, and the power of language.Beloved poet Naomi Shihab Nye returns to Portland for a public reading, drawing from her expansive body of work. She is joined by past Oregon Poet Laureate Kim Stafford for an onstage conversation about poetry as daily practice, influence, and how creativity can sustain us in uncertain times.This special evening is presented by The Stafford Challenge and Wild Poet Events in partnership with Oregon Humanities and Lewis & Clark College.
Tickets: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/wildpoetevents/2066199

As You Like It
2026-06-26 - 2026-07-19
Howard Thoresen founded the Portland Actors Ensemble in 1970–along with Keith Scales, Alan Benditt, Aaron Smith & Hal Slater.
Free Shakespeare in the parks–what a wonderful idea!
Covid tried to put an end to it–but it’s back!
HOORAY!!!

Will Hornyak upcoming performances 6/26-7/24
2026-06-26 - 2026-07-24
Will at Hotel Zags (ORR): Will will be drawing from a variety of tales, songs and poems to suit the moment and the audience.

Hotel Zags
515 SW Clay St., in Portland

Fridays, June 26-July 24 7-9 p.m.

Will Hornyak at Hotel Zags 6/26-7/24
2026-06-26 - 2026-07-24
Dear Friends,

I’ve got a fun and free (!) storytelling gig I wanted to let you know about. I’m at the Hotel Zags in downtown Portland the next five Friday evenings from 7-9 p.m. I’ll be in their spacious outdoor seating area sharing stories with whomever drops by. They have several gas fire places, comfortable seating areas and a full restaurant and bar. Happy hour runs from 6-8 p.m. So, stop by for a drink, some vittles and a story or two. This is a very informal event so I’ll be drawing from a variety of tales, songs and poems to suit the moment and the audience. I’ve had three evenings at the Zags so far and they’ve gone well, but I’d love to have some of my own friends attend. Hope you can stop by.

All the best,
Will

Will at Hotel Zags:

515 SW Clay St., Portland, OR 97201

Fridays, June 26-July 24, 7-9 p.m.

LARRY YES at Waterfront Blues Festival 7/2/26
2026-07-02 13:00 - 14:00
LARRY YES brings a massive amount of GOOD VIBES to Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival (https://waterfrontbluesfest.com/) on July 2nd, at the River Rhythms Stage at 1:15 pm.

NOT TO BE MISSED!!!

BEAUTY: A Vision 7/18/26
2026-07-18 14:00 - 16:00
BEAUTY: A Vision

Johnny Stallings looks at Beauty

Saturday, July 18, at 2 p.m.
Artspace Room at Taborspace, 5441 SE Belmont

this Open Road event is free

J and the Metaphors: Open Road Benefit Concert
2026-07-26 14:00 - 15:30
