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HEARTBREAK HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF LONELY STREET

I checked into Heartbreak Hotel on Monday, except it had another name. To my surprise there wasn’t a line at the desk; the crowd was already inside. The crowd is everywhere in the news.

VICTIM DEFAULT AND YOU’RE ALWAYS THE ONE?

Victim default: “There you go again.” Or: “When did passive-aggressive wake up?” My favorite: “That mood swing make you dizzy?” If you want a professional opinion who do you ask? A professional, of course.

EDUCATE, VALIDATE, FOLLOW THAT KNOWLEDGE

The work to educate people is an uphill climb. Nothing shows it better than the last year and a half. The corona virus has revealed an unexpected side of America. It’s the side where marginal public figures claim air time by saying whatever it takes to garner attention. But we’re way past that now? Not […]

RURAL OREGON FROM COAST TO WILLAMETTE VALLEY

Rural Oregon has never looked better through my windshield. Looked so good I extended a drive by hours just to see more. No, I wasn’t lost. The backroads from Charleston to Coos Bay showed places I’d never seen, and I like to think I keep my eyes open. It looked like rural Alaska without the […]

OREGON STOPS: FROM CLAUSEN OYSTER TO CRESWELL BAKERY

The roads around here are not in drive-by country. Oregon Stops make you pull over, or turn around and go back if you missed the turn. Clausen Oyster is one such Oregon stop. What makes Clausen’s a good stop? Oysters in every size I could imagine. Even better?

SANDCASTLES AT SUNSET

Sandcastles, from the most ornate to a bucket of wet sand turned upside down, all have one thing in common: They don’t last. But instead of mourning the loss of the castle, think of this: You have a chance to build another one, a better one, one that will last. Knowing it won’t last never […]

NORTH BEND: A HOMETOWN IN THREE PARTS, 1, 2, 3

North Bend, Oregon has the same parts as anywhere else in the world. In my view, and I think you’ll agree, the three parts are: What I thought it was. What it is. How others see it. Sounds normal enough? It fits your hometown, too.

SENIOR CLASS FOOTBALL: CHANGING OF THE GUARD

The senior class of 1973, way back when, came into a difficult football situation as sophomores. We’d spent freshman year pounding it out over all comers. We had size, speed, and some of us were still growing. You could say we had high hopes moving forward. Instead we got stuck. The high school coaching was […]

WHY TRAVEL? SOME ANSWERS FROM THE FIELD

Why travel when you’ve got all the comforts at home? Who doesn’t like comforts? Aw, those slippers, that coffee mug. Oh that recliner. You won’t find those anywhere else, and that’s the problem. Some people are afraid to find out there is a different world than the one they currently live in. Why travel when […]

DIFFERENT COUNTRY? DIFFERENT THAN WHAT?

Every time I read, “We’re a different country now,” I start picking things apart. We’re different because some man or woman got their feelings hurt? Different because someone didn’t get their way and had a meltdown? It sounds different, but what’s really going on? I call it EMPOWERMENT, where normally quiet people discover the sound […]