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GARDEN PARTY REMINISCING

Remember your first garden party when you invited people over to the house to see what you planted, what you’ve grown?
It’s a touching moment to behold after years of planning.
You build a raised bed like the picture here, and buy plants you just know will grow.
And they did.

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“CALLS OUT” PUT ‘ON THE SPOT’

What does “calls out” mean other than another way of saying “Hey You?”
““Why Do You Have To Leave Practice?”: Michael Irvin Calls Out Justin Herber.””
If you’re ‘calling someone out’ it’s most likely about something that’s none of your business.
Calls Out = Nosey Nellie? For example:

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NATURE SIGNS TO WATCH FOR

When you make a plan to see nature up close, expect nature signs.
Follow the message of the signs for best results.
Do that and you’ll return home with sweet memories and solid experiences with exciting pictures to share.
If it’s your first time out in the wild, pay extra attention.
You can thank me later. Or now. This nature sign was in the cabin:

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OFF GRID, NO PHONE SERVICE, BUT . . .

I’ve had mixed results with off grid peace and quiet.
Once I stayed in a place the had no telephones in the rooms for just that purpose, peace and quiet.
Sounded very thoughtful until a road grader started grinding across the parking lot pavement the next morning.
It couldn’t have been any closer if it had come through the front door.
My wife and I both chuckle when we talk about our honeymoon. One of us does.
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TIME TRAVEL INSIDE A LUMBER BARN

It’s just a barn, a lumber barn in the middle of nowhere, but so much more.
It’s an historical record, an archive of sawdust, splinters, slivers, and work. Hard work.
The main attraction is a train engine used to move big logs out of the woods, along with other man-killing machinery.
For me the big deal was the barn itself.
What a barn:

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toughen up

F CANCER WALK DOWN PORTLAND SOUTH PARK BLOCKS

  If holding paper from an institute of higher learning means anything, it means exposure to civil discourse.   I hold paper from Portland State University, so F Cancer.   Can I get a, “Hell Yeah!”

MEMORIAL DAY AT THE VA

Memoir: How To Make A Difference On Memorial Day. In the early 80’s a man moved to Portland from New York City. An Oregon man. He moved in with the best girl he’d ever known. Up until then. She was THE ONE, if one ever existed. Up until then. Keep in mind those who think […]

BILL GATES KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HPV AND HIV?

    Bill Gates is not a doctor. Nor is he a college graduate. So how is it he’s smart enough to know the difference between HIV and HPV?   This is a man smart enough to give medical advice to the most powerful man in the world, leader of the Free World, President Donald […]

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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 […]

BABY BOOMER YOUTH GAMES

Could Kids Today Benefit From The Game Of Stretch Or Mumbly Peg? If Millennials and the rest of us want to meet on level ground, we must learn to share our games. A game on television is the easy part. Click a station, then another, until you find a game you both want to watch. […]

When The Lights Go Down In The City

The Neon Gets Better. On a cold, dark, night, a city asks for caution. Even the familiar takes on an extra foreboding. With others, or walking alone, the sound of footsteps behind you quickens your pace. Empty shadows carry secrets you don’t want to know. Some streets are just not very inviting. Even in the […]

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buckle up

TAKE ME TO UNION STATION AND PUT ME ON A TRAIN

  What is it about train stations, including Portland Union Station, that feel so mournful? The Rolling Stones caught the sorrow with No Expectations. Take me to the station And put me on a train I’ve got no expectations To pass through here again Once I was a rich man Now I am so poor […]

SILVERTON SEVEN BRIDES BREWERY FESTIVAL

It wasn’t billed as a festival for a Thursday night, but it was this time. A festival of survivability after a heart-thumping force march on the hottest day of the year. Add one of the smokiest days from Canadian fires and it felt like a heavenly Seven Brides Brewery cloud. How wonderful was this? Everyone […]

PORTLAND PLANNING VIEW FROM SOUTH WATERFRONT

    Does the top pic look anything like a Portland planning Christmas card? Stacked apartments dot the SW Portland landscape like a vision of Chicago from the Sears Tower.   That’s not the welcome mat Portland planning rolls out for new pioneers. Where’s that world famous food cart court next to a tap room? […]

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