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BASHING CIVIL DISCOURSE TO NEW HEIGHTS

How often do you catch yourself in civil discourse and regret what you’ve said?
It usually goes something like, ‘this would have been better if I had just stayed on topic.’
That’s the polite self-talk. The other?
Not so polite.
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THE RUBY ANNIVERSARY LANTERN

What’s a ruby anniversary?
We’ve all heard of the silver and golden anniversaries, but ruby?
Weddings are funny things, and now so are anniversaries.
You don’t want any missteps or mistakes, so in service to all matrimonial celebrations:

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CUVÉE MOTHER’S DAY WITH CHEF GILBERT HENRY AND COMPANY

Mother’s Day grows more importance when it’s part of a masterplan.
Add a road trip with a restaurant at the end and it edges toward epic.
It goes without saying that any two lane drive through rural Washington and Yamhill County is enough to make you want to sell everything and move into a dilapidated barn in the country, it also shows what pulled pioneers out of the midwest.
A forty minute trip does all that before you walk into Chef Henry’s realm of Cuvée in Carlton.
Cuvée?

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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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toughen up

CANCER EDUCATION, PAIN MANAGEMENT, LIQUID OXY

I am a sore throat expert. It’s a benefit of neck cancer education after I graduated from treatment. Of all sore throats in the history of sore throats mine was the worst, said everyone with a sore throat rated above an 8.5.

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.” […]

SWING HARD OR SOFT, BUT HIT THE SWEET SCIENCE

If The Heavy Bag Could Talk No matter the age or gender, we never lose the urge to fight. We fight for one thing or another all our lives. It’s not always called a fight, but it can feel like it. And you can still win. During the 1920’s Golden Age of Sports, college football, […]

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boomer years

PORTLAND PROGRESSIVE REGRESSIVE

If you’re confused in 2016, you might be a Portland Progressive Regressive. Why do things look so perfect in the rear view mirror in Portland? More important, why do we keep looking? The Portland Progressive Regressive likes the good old days, but looks forward to the future. Their vision might not be 20/20, but it […]

COMPASS ROSE CITY PORTLAND

Compass Rose As Eight Ball? You Are Correct. The eight ball works with some people better than others. Ask a question. Smack a stooge. Repeat. For these explorers it works best. Not so much for the rest of us. We need direction. We need a compass rose city Portland sort of direction. And there’s only […]

A MAY WEDDING AND ONE LOUD, “I DO,” LATER

A May wedding in a Fir Cathedral and still in the woods thirty one years later. Doesn’t every married couple have a theme song? They should, and it doesn’t have to be the same song forever. Just make it a song older than your marriage. And no Beatles. This ought to be the common default:

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buckle up

FIVE DIAMOND PRESIDENT, OR HOW TO UNDERSTAND HIGH END HABITS

    For any questions about President Trump, his behavior in office, and general lifestyle, there’s a simple answer:   He’s a Five Diamond President. If that’s not good enough, he’s also a Six Star Diamond man.   What you see in President Trump is the result of decades of pampered living.   Nothing wrong […]

AN AMERICAN MEMOIR FOR THE POPE

When The Pope Visited Philadelphia In The Shadow Of Rocky. Picture yourself in the land of our forefathers, walking on ground won by American blood. It’s the same American blood flowing through every American. That’s Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War and every war since. Two hundred years later Philadelphia was the site of President Ford’s […]

ROSLYN WASHINGTON SATURDAY EVENING OASIS IN THE WOODS

    Quick reaction: What’s the first thing that comes to mind walking past a bar like this in Seattle, or Chicago, or Milwaukee? Cross the street? Hogs at the curb, chunky guys in black SECURITY shirts. It’s a scene ready for action. If you’re a stranger to such parts, you’d walk past in other […]

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