Permission Granted—Grace in an Episodic World “Permission” brought us together on the phone. He, in Michigan at a major university—a piano tuner, father, robust Catholic Christian, and much more than I will ever know. I, in Hawaii—retired, United Methodist Christian, working at play and playing at work, musing, making a gate so my toddler granddaughter won’t fall down the stairs when she comes to visit each day. He (I imagine) in snow boots and a heavy coat nearby (16 degrees on this February day). I, in my shorts and floppies—my daily uniform. I had emailed him early in the morning. He replied, “Call me” and gave his phone number. So we were talking on the phone by the weavings of grace. I had found (ah, Google search!) his posting of startlingly engaging photos of the baptism of his son and I wanted to use one of them for a web article I had written. He needed to know if the usage was legit and not some scam. In this postmodern world grace is dynamic, seemingly random, and episodic.