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BEARD LIFE: WHY ADDING OREGON HISTORY TO THE STORY MATTERS

In the middle of every February it’s always the same: Oregon’s birthday, Valentine’s Day, and a celebration of beard life all at the same time. This year I brought some extra beard life to the chocolate and the lemon birthday cake. They both wore well.

LASTING FRIENDSHIPS FROM ACQUAINTANCE TO UN-DITCHABLE

Try and remember the first lasting friendships outside your family that left an impression on you; think of someone before first grade. My early years were spent in a college town. My dad was a student with a wife, two kids, and another one born before he got his Bachelor’s.

ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST MOVIE PALS

The past January I’ve been on an Academy Award sprint to see the movies nominated. Or at least a few of them. I started with 1917. My group had it all figured out. We would meet at the theater and go from there. It was a perfect plan except for one thing:

SUPPLY CHAIN BLUES ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY

A supply chain brings the stuff, the things we can’t live without. Large and small, long and short, it’s stuff that is researched and designed, approved and produced, then boxed and shipped. A strong chain delivers quality on time; then there’s the other supply chains.

SYLVIA PLATH JOINS WILLAMETTE WRITERS WITH KATE GRAY

Kate Gray explained Sylvia Plath in the best way possible: she wants the world to know ‘the girl’ Plath was before her junior year in college. I sat in the full-house crowd at Willamette Writers monthly meeting in downtown Portland, marveling that anyone could give such a thorough breakdown of a real person; that anyone […]

MOHS SURGERY: WHAT TO EXPECT, HOW TO REACT

Mohs surgery is another way of saying: “WTF just happened to my face?” Everyone I’ve talked to has had a similar reaction to this: “I wasn’t expecting anything so dramatic.” Is that a ‘normal’ reaction? Based on experience, I say it is. Here’s why:

TRANSITIONAL MALE BONDING HISTORY

Please don’t explain the definition of transitional male. From a point of view as a male of the species, I like to think I’m always transitioning from who I am to a better version of who I am. But, as I’m constantly reminded by those who know, it’s not always about me. Of course they’re […]

WHY HEART BREAKS NEVER BREAK EVEN FOR ANYONE

Like serious illness, heart breaks are best left for others, not you and I. It’s just easier when it’s someone else. At a distance. The further the better. That way you can learn from them in case it happens to you.

WHY AMERICAN MILITARY ARE STATIONED IN GERMANY AND JAPAN

My sources say over 33,000 US military personnel live in Germany, and 50,000 in Japan when their census came in in 2013. I’m part of the chorus asking, “Why?” Then I remember WWII.

BOOK HISTORY: LIVE IT THEN WRITE IT

Book history could be about the printing press, except books existed before the printing press. Just not as many, and not all in Europe.