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MAY 1986, THE LAST WEDDING

It was a cloudy, wet, day, in May 1986 for the last wedding.
Like so many raised on the Oregon coast, a cloudy, wet, day, is good luck no matter where you are.
Everything was done, everything set in Sandy, from rented morning coats to a rented preacher.
The preacher was a second choice.
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SHARING SPECIAL DAYS, EVERY LAST ONE

Special days have special meaning which don’t hit the same for everyone.
For some it’s repeating, “Why bother,” for the fortieth time.
Others like to say, “I thought we’ve moved past all that.”
But you still find those looking for something special in every day, and keep looking until they find it. Hell or high water.
The last line is the bell ringer.
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OLD PORTLAND, YOUNG PARENTS

Make that old Portland, youngish parents.
Or not so old Portland, and not so young parents.
We weren’t teenagers, but if you ever want to feel like one push a stroller around downtown.
With two kids it’s like a double punishment, like sent to your room AND missing dinner.
What else?
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LET THEM, LET YOU, OR LET ME?

The Let Them Theory book has a lot of lets in the letters.
My favorites are the parts that address my problems, which come with a writing habit from what I can tell.
Will I discover why I’m not a better writer?
Learn what I should have done by now, or find a lingering message to get over myself already?
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NORTH BEND HEROES START HERE

 Calling North Bend a small town is a disservice to real small towns everywhere.
Driving south on 101 and crossing the North Bend Bridge takes you under this sign.
If you’re not paying close attention and keep going the same direction, the entire area of the largest metro complex on the Oregon coast feels like it’s all North Bend, especially if you miss the little coos bay sign.
How can the biggest city on the coast be a small town?
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toughen up

GYM MEMORIAL FOR BOOMERS

  The first thing you notice in a new gym is the pecking order. Strong guys group together. Old guys over there. Young men pumping out the reps. Ladies all over the place on every piece of equipment.   Women have the gym all figured out. Guys not so much.   Over time a few […]

RESPECT WOMEN IF YOU RESPECT YOURSELF

It’s hard to respect women, or anyone, unless you respect yourself.   Find a mirror and give it a hard look while you’re in front of it. Do you respect the image reflected back? If not, get to work. You’ve heard this saying, “You say you respect someone if you can’t say you like them.” […]

PREPARE FOR A DOCTOR VISIT

Do you get in shape for your doctor visit? For too many men it takes an force of nature to schedule a doctor visit. Women, not so much. That force of nature is called a wife after she makes an appointment two months away. She knows you’ll go; you know you’ll go. How you show […]

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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 […]

HOW TO: 50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Look For Lots Of Portland Baby Boomers Lining Up. 1. Get married young and stay married. You’ve got a slim chance of getting to fifty on either a second marriage or a late first. Look at the obituaries and you’ll see high school sweethearts listed. Usually the husband makes the list first. What to do? […]

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 […]

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buckle up

PORTLAND’S BOOMER CASTLE ON BROADWAY

You don’t have to go to France to feel the grandeur of a beautiful room. Or a cathedral in Spain for the ornate. Walk into the Benson Hotel on Broadway for the same feeling of WOW. The size is different, but the details are wonderful. For an Old World taste in the New World, this […]

OREGON NIGHT LIGHT NECKLACE FOR CAUTIOUS SEA CAPTAINS, AND YOU

One picture doesn’t do the Oregon Night Light Necklace justice But here it is according to a State Park sign. Click the pics for full size. It’s a cool light house map on a big screen. Now imagine yourself on a wooden sailboat exploring another poorly mapped coast line. Another chance to crash on the […]

BUNKUM STONE FINALLY DEBUNKED BY LOAD OF BUNK

Good luck and gifts of Bunkum Stone? ‘Tis the Season to talk it out. The gift of ‘loquacity?’ Gift? The incessant jabbering of the loquacious is a gift, not the reason earplugs were invented? Now you know. Now you know even more. From dictionary.com: Word Origin and History for loquacity n. c.1200, from Latin loquacitatem […]

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