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GROWING UP AND STAYING SHARP

Growing up is a decision.
It’s a decision to be on time, show up ready to go, and inspire others by your example.
Like writing a blog, lol.
The biggest decision to make? Decide to stay sharp, in spite of having sons.
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SUNDAY WRESTLING DRIVE TO OREGON STATE

I took a Sunday wrestling drive to Corvallis for a match.
But it’s always more than a wrestling match at Oregon State.
It always turns into a question of decisions made and paths taken.
While it’s always a fun time, this time stood out.
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OREGON LOCATION FINALLY REVEALED

The Oregon location is where it’s always been, somewhere between Seattle and San Francisco.
That’s what I got from talking to foreigners in their own country.
No idea of Oregon, Washington, or Portland. But Seattle? Yes.
California? Yes.
Why does Oregon get the same confused reaction from sports analysts?
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CAREGIVING REVIEW WITH HUNTER THOMPSON

A caregiving review needs an expert.
I am that expert and this is my review with help from Hunter Thompson.
His famous quotes are care-worthy:
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FRIENDLY OWLS IN THE FOREST DARK

I’ve heard owls hoot and they sounded like friendly owls.
But I’ve never seen one in the wild.
Until yesterday.
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toughen up

COPING WITH CANCER: EVERYDAY, OR JUST WHEN IT COMES UP

The first thing I read in a cancer waiting room was Coping With Cancer magazine. Articles and essays defined cancer, breaking down a most unimaginable deal to human understanding. The snippet for Coping on google says, “Coping with Cancer. A wide variety of professionals share their knowledge and experience in easy-to-read, relevant articles, and patients, […]

CIGARETTE SMOKE ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM? DON’T DO IT

    Tobacco and cigarette smoke, the stuff of dreams and nightmares.   The dream part comes first. Light a stick and enjoy. All you’ve got to do is breath in, breath out, and watch the cigarette smoke curl into shapes. Later comes the nightmare part, the regret, the tubes, the hospital smell, the faces […]

CANCER ROOM: BEST OF TIMES, WORST OF TIMES

The biggest motivation for writing a cancer room memoir like ‘LICKING CANCER, The Full Response’ is paying tribute to the people I met in there.   From staff to patients, it’s a team focused on the same goal, until it goes off the tracks, and it does in one way or the other for everyone. […]

GIVING CAREGIVING SHOWS EXTRA LIFE

The biggest booster from giving caregiving?   Adapted for Parkinson’s, it becomes “Hate the disease, love the relationships it builds.” It works for most every disease at every age. The idea of extra life works for all, too. Doctors treating Parkinson’s are the key relationship, but they need equally strong links to those in their patients’ lives. One link of […]

WHAT SEVERE ILLNESS MEANS TO OTHERS

  Under the category of ‘Who Knew’, severe illness opens the door to compassion. And it’s not all about you.   Talk between cancer survivors is one thing; talk between a cancer survivor and someone untouched launches other topics. Some survivors are good listeners, others see the open door and rush right through.   That […]

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boomer years

WHY BATMAN MATTERS MORE TO BOOMERS

Why Ben Affleck Matters More To Batman. Baby boomers met Batman up close and personal. He wasn’t the first super hero, but he seemed the most like us. His powers didn’t come from space, or a science accident, but from his own devices. Bruce Wayne had more than a little Iron Man, though Batman’s birthday […]

LOVE AFFAIRS OR LEARNING AFFAIRS

Do past love affairs affect the future? What happens between two people ought to be like Las Vegas: what happens there stays there. Except it never happens that way between two people, three or four people, or a whole team of people. No judgements, just call it a social agreement between adults who know how […]

TEACHER ABUSE BAD FOR STUDENT BODY

  How does a seasoned school administrator lose their job by ignoring students? When they decide some student voices are more important than others.   The old saying about a squeaky wheel getting the grease may apply here, but the school official was out of lube. Now they’re out of a job, or will be […]

ROLLING STONE AND PLAYBOY BOTH DIED IN 1980. WHO NOTICED?

  Growing up in the shadow of the sixties, I turned sixteen in 1970, two magazines ruled the media rack: Rolling Stone and Playboy.   Ten years later in 1980 two icons from each were murdered. John Lennon and Dorothy Stratten were both shot down in tragic style.   Rolling Stone and Playboy did a […]

All American Moment Of Serendipitous Patriotism

    One fine summer day in Philadelphia I found myself walking east on Market Street in the company of friends and family toward Independence Hall.   The Liberty Bell was still in residence.   I remember aunts and uncles and cousins and roommates all hiking toward the July 4th, 1976 Bicentennial speech given by […]

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buckle up

BOOMER TRAVEL: GO IT ALONE?

The Benefits Of Single Boomer Travel Are Many, Even If You’re Married? Good reasons to travel as a couple include shared experience above all. There’s a bond that occurs between a husband and wife traveling together. Pictures and video don’t tell the story. Neither does a diary or a narrative recounting. The glee and spirit […]

SILVERTON SEVEN BRIDES BREWERY FESTIVAL

It wasn’t billed as a festival for a Thursday night, but it was this time. A festival of survivability after a heart-thumping force march on the hottest day of the year. Add one of the smokiest days from Canadian fires and it felt like a heavenly Seven Brides Brewery cloud. How wonderful was this? Everyone […]

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE LIVES IN BEAVERTON OREGON

  The Original Practice Shakespeare Festival staged Much Ado About Nothing Saturday night. It felt like a homecoming at the Elsie Stuhr Center. From pre-school to seniors and everyone in between, the OPS players dominated the room. William Shakespeare lives in Beaverton, if only for one night. But it’s more.

How To Go Home Again Boomer Style

NW Boomer, the baby boomer guide, disagrees with Thomas Wolfe. He said, “You can’t go home again,” then wrote a huge book about it. Maybe that works if you come from the east, but not in Oregon. You can’t go home if home means the same thing you left for. Dark bars and empty streets are […]

THOMAS WOLFE PACK PART 2

The rest of Thomas Wolfe pack part 2 begins with big shoes to fill. (Click here for Wolfe Pack One.) How big? Wolfe was six feet six inches. He didn’t prance around in ballet slippers. His sleds probably rolled to size fourteen or fifteen. Like a forty inch waist in mid-life, and shopping at the […]

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