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BETTER LISTENING SKILLS FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING

If practicing better listening skills isn’t a life goal, it should be.
How hard is it to pay attention?
You did it in the classroom with the encouragement of a teacher.
I still remember Mr. Kraus singing ‘Toot toot tootsie goodbye’ when he tossed little tootsie rolls to students with the right answer in algebra.
Maybe we need more of that? Instead we get more of this:

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RETURNING REVERENCE TO IT’S RIGHTFUL PLACE

There’s a scent of reverence in the air, of returning reverence after a long pause.
It started in my doctor’s office where I’d been called to sit on a panel with others.
One of the others was Roy Pittman, one of my personal heroes.
The next time I saw the doctor he told me he was surprised at the way I acted, that I showed reverence to Coach Pittman.
If I did, I didn’t know it. What I remember is feeling awe-struck. Maybe it’s the same thing?
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NBA CHAMPION CROWNED, AGAIN

Becoming an NBA champion is a lifelong goal for every basketball player in the world.
The best want to play the best, beat the best, to tell themselves they’re good enough.
It’s that along with contracts and money and fame.
All of that goes along the wayside when you stop playing in ninth grade like me, or in high school.
Do I blame the coaches that I didn’t become a star, a substitute, or even a benchwarmer?
Noooooo, but . . .
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CLEAN LIVING FOR A QUIET LIFE

Clean living is an art form, and like all art it takes practice.
Yes, we’re talking about practice.
It takes practice to talk without a particular tone, without too much edge.
Do that and you may have a productive conversation.
Go ahead and save the tone and edge for people you don’t know, who don’t know you.
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I READ THE NEWS TODAY OH BOY

The news today is all about world events.
News organizations deliver it every day with the same hype and urgency.
News hounds consume every detail and load it onto the pile they carry in case someone asks them ‘what’s up?’
That’s when you brace yourself for the headlines as if they’re coming from an anchorman. Or woman.
That’s the big news story you NEED to know.
The small news, the stories that make us step back, come out another way.
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toughen up

CANCER TREATMENT: 5 THINGS I KNEW BEFORE STARTING

    I will submit to the cancer treatment sequence of events that may or may not do what is predicted. Like a lamb to slaughter, I would submit to whatever it took to kill the shit out of hpv16 throat cancer.   In the writing world we all dream of that one ‘YES’ that […]

MILLENNIAL SELF CARE = SELF RESPONSIBILITY

  You know it’s not pledge week when NPR rags millennials about ‘self-care.’ Instead of pledging money to them, they’ll buy an ‘experience’ instead. Cue Jimi Hendrix? Gracy Obuchowicz says it’s more than just social media that has pushed millennials to the forefront of the self-care discussion. “Our generation has seen enough,” she said. “People […]

BREAST CANCER: A MOTHER JONES FACEBOOK POST ASKS IF ALCOHOL IS A CAUSE. WHAT ARE OTHER CANCER CAUSES?

    From motherjones.com:   Susan Sontag once wrote that telling people about your cancer diagnosis tends to fill them with mortal dread. But when I’ve disclosed my illness to friends and told them that alcohol can cause breast cancer, I’ve never invoked enough mortal dread to deter anyone from ordering a second drink. Most women […]

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boomer years

PARADE MAGAZINE FOR BOOMERS?

Sunday’s issue of Parade Magazine is full of gift ideas. Boomers, just look at ads instead. You open the Sunday Oregonian, or the big newspaper in your city, and the cover features ‘the hottest stuff to give and get.’ How hot? Scarves, socks, hats that will keep you warm in the chilly winter. But those […]

MILLENNIAL BASHING? NOT SO FAST, BOOMER

Baby Boomers need to stop Millennial bashing for the sake of all. Remember the generation too lazy to work, to loaded to care, and too free to stick around? Were those millennials or boomers? Self pampered boomers look at millennials today with everything from disgust to loathing, especially since they raised them. They are experts […]

ORGANIC FOOD DELIVERY: INGREDIENTS FOR LIFE

  Where’s the organic food? All I see are fruit and veggies. Overheard in a grocery store produce aisle: “Let’s head to the deli and get something to eat, this is just ingredients.” Ingredients for healthy food? The top image is a box from Organics To You. They promise “Farm Fresh Home Delivery.” Not Meals […]

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buckle up

WONDERS OF WIFE WORDS (WWOW)

A Boomer Husband Interpretation. A Zen retreat sits near the base of Thunder Mountain. The area of peace and reflection draws people from around the world. It seems Sedona is a world magnet for healing and renewal. If you chose a day for peace and harmony, this is the place. My wife and I found […]

Travel Bans From History, Who Should Be Banned

    Travel bans tend to be specific in terms of where to go and where not to go.   Travel bans say one thing: Don’t go there, girlfriend. Stay away, pal.   Like a dress code in the NY disco dancing prime time of the late ’70’s, while punk rock was getting ready to […]

Portland Italian Festival, Portland Haute Couture

    Not Little Italy, but Big Italy, Portland’s Italian Festival swinging in the biggest living room in Oregon, Pioneer Square.   Food, beer, and music mix to show the city in the best light possible, like an Italian chandelier.   Is it fun? Educational? Mesmerizing? All of that along with beautiful Italian women in […]

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