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FATHER FIGURE OF THE FUTURE: VOTE BIDEN

November 2, 2020 by

The last time I talked to my step-dad, he was a father figure. He said he didn’t ask us boys to call him Dad. I called him Dad then. He was in an acute recovery facility after surgery during covid and smoke, I was outside his window talking through a screen. “You were a good […]

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WRITING AWARDS GIVEN FOR WORDS WRITTEN: VOTE BIDEN

November 1, 2020 by

The third grade writing awards from the fire department set me on my way. The framed paper hangs on my Wall of Fame as a reminder to do better. Do better in third grade? That’s when I learned the power of words. I copied a lymerick from a Johnny Hartford fire prevention magazine and printed […]

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MICROBRAND MARRIAGE? JOIN THE CLUB

October 31, 2020 by

A microbrand marriage is an extra tightener on the matrimonial knot. The idea came to me during an important conversation about the R word. Realionship. Getting married seeps into everything until it becomes the defining relationship we’ll be judged by. The “Good Husband,” and, “Good Wife,” pressure is easier to manage in a microbrand marriage. […]

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BOOMER GRANDMA CHANNELS GREAT GRANDMA EFFORTLESSLY

October 30, 2020 by

Boomer Grandma comes from a generation given the dubious credit of being the first totally self-absorbed demographic in American history. It’s quite a label to carry, but Boomer Grandma proves it wrong. Aren’t grandparents even allowed a little self-absorption? Boomer, please. Now Boomer Grandma carries an even heavier burden, if that’s possible. They are the […]

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VISIT GRANDMA FOR LESSONS SOONER THAN LATER

October 29, 2020 by

My Visit Grandma story is about the first woman elected to the Bend City Council in 1964. My Grandma. I was twelve and she was something. My grandparents were church people who abided by Presbyterian rules. They took it very seriously. As church people do, they made it a big part of their local reputation, […]

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PORTLAND OREGON FROM THE THIRD FLOOR

October 28, 2020 by

City lights in Portland Oregon brighten before sunrise, one window at a time, floor by floor, until an entire wall reveals the secret shadows behind steel and glass. Every city feels anonymous in the beginning. Tall buildings full of strangers become familiar in time. After that, it’s your town. A clear orange sky promises fall colors painted […]

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HOW SECOND BORN KIDS MAKE THEIR MARK

October 27, 2020 by

Being a second born myself, I know how to make a mark. Call it a mark, a scar, it’s something to be remembered by. I’m sure it’s different with girls, and the mix of brothers and sisters, but my mix was all boys for the first fourteen years. The first, then fourteen months later the […]

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GROWING OLDER WITH A SECOND EMOTION

October 26, 2020 by

No one cures aging; growing older is not a disease. Instead of seeing it as a problem to challenge your mental health, flip the idea of growing older into an opportunity: You are older today than you’ve ever been. What makes it different than yesterday? A week older, a month older, a year older? What […]

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EXERCISE BOUNDARY UPDATE, GYM RAT 2020

October 25, 2020 by

Gym rat identity is based on an exercise boundary. It’s a balancing act between too little and too much, too often and not enough. Where you set the exercise boundary is based on what you see in the mirror when you take a good look. Like what you see? Don’t like what you see? Or, […]

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BURIED STORIES, EXPRESSIONS OF HOPE

October 24, 2020 by

News hounds dig for the buried stories that explain everything. Sometimes it works better than others. They find diamonds in the rough, clean them up, and exhibit them. Where’s that buried story dog in Oregon? Asking for readers from the Top Ten states on boomerpdx overnight: Oregon, California, Washington, followed by Texas, New York, Florida, […]

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