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HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE WITH EVELYN BANKO

Last night my wife and I, along with our friends Barry and Phyllis, attended a Holocaust remembrance in the Tigard library.

 

Please join us on the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht for a witnessing by the local Holocaust survivor Evelyn Banko.
She will be talking about her experiences under Nazi persecution in Austria, and her family’s eventual journey to safety in the US by way of Latvia and the Soviet Union. 
Caution: strong language involving violence and death.
Program presented in partnership with the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education.

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TAKING PART IN FAMILY LIFE

Family life takes time. Ask the Baldwins with their seven kids.
Keep that in mind, you youngsters, when you decide it’s time to join in.
Join the club, the family club, sooner than later.
Why?
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THE TRUTH, GETTING A HANDLE

Getting a handle on the truth shouldn’t be a big hurdle to clear.
All it takes is a little self-awareness.
The truth is your friend if you’re not too sketchy.
Will it set you free? Well . . .
It depends on the sort of shackles your used to.
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‘DOING RESEARCH’ AND OTHER EXCUSES

What counts as doing research?
For writers it’s an easy answer: Everything is research.
And because everything is research, the trick is finding what matters more.
Is it writing about where you are, how you feel, the people you’re with?
The correct answer? All of the above.
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TWO STORIES + ONE MAN = GREAT LITERATURE? OK LEO

Where does great literature come from?
From more than two stories, but first about ‘that man.’
The great literature man.
Where does he come from?
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toughen up

Portland Mole Removal

  How many Portland baby boomers remember when they were pregnant, or their significant others were pregnant?   Didn’t the world seem full of pregnant women?   They were everywhere and you were part of it.   Then you had your baby and you didn’t notice as many pregnant women. Instead you saw a million kids. […]

BABY BOOMER FOOT ISSUES SOLVED

Do you have Baby Boomer Foot Issues? Yesterday I jammed my pained tootsie into about twenty shoes. The pain comes with plantar fasciitis, which is supposed to be a heel thing, but got my middle toe instead. I blame a famous shoe brand for bending my foot the wrong direction, then myself for thinking the […]

HEALTHCARE BULLY PREYS ON THE WEAKEST

  Any coherent healthcare bully debate needs to go beyond the numbers, the insurance companies. Beyond drug company research and development that puts the BIG in Big Pharma. It’s about who the healthcare bully reaches for in the debate. The most vulnerable, of course. The population currently undergoing severe medical treatment. I’ll use cancer treatment […]

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boomer years

THE BIRTHDAY BOY: HOW TO CELEBRATE YOUR DAD’S DAY

The Gillaspie children Wayne, Cleo, and Rex, c. 1948. This May 8th my Dad would have been 84 years old. Birthdays are important. To all baby boomers: Call your parents on their birthday. To all hipsters: Get off your scooter and show your parents you were raised right. Call them. To all millennials: Follow the […]

AGING IN PLACE MEANS LIVING IN PEACE

Baby Boomers yearn for an Aging in Place state of mind. If all we are asking is give peace a chance, why not ask for more, like a peaceful place to live? This aging behemoth of a generation, these Baby Boomers, are asking for more. They say they want to age in place, like aging […]

MESSAGE TO AGING MILLENNIALS: STAND TOGETHER

Eventually you figure out where you stand. How does that work? Look around. You’re not standing alone. Even when if feels like no one notices, they do. What they notice is context, where you are, and the nearest identifier. The biggest thing is if they decide to join you. You might call it selfish to […]

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buckle up

VANDERBILT DAYS AT THE OMNI GROVE PARK INN

You don’t need to be a Vanderbilt to fall in love with The Omni Grove Park Inn. If you were a Vanderbilt, or a friend of the Vanderbilts, you’d stay at Biltmore House back in the day. That day began in 1895, and you’d travel with your staff, which included someone to dress you for […]

PORTLAND OF THE SOUTH PT. 2: KNOW WHERE YOU ARE

An ongoing series about Asheville, NC, Portland of the South pt. 2. In Portland, Oregon, going under the Morrison Bridge at midnight for southern food seems like a good idea every time. Yes, it’s dark, there are homeless tents scattered around, but Montage is still Portland. Park and go on in. If it was any […]

WHY SMALL TOWN PEOPLE MATTER

    Lost in the hyper speed of modern life on a 1.4 terabit internet connection is the human pace of life. Call it small town life for small town people, but remember we’re all small town people once you peel off the layers of sophistication.   Jet setters once clamored for seats on the […]

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