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VOTE DAY WITH BALLOT ENCLOSED

May 14, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Vote day is finished with the ballot in the signature required envelope. It took about five minutes. Using a black ink pen I darkened the horizontal ovals for my people. You’re doing the same for your people? Let’s be clear who ‘our people’ are.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: 2024 ballots, ballot, blog, blog post, blogger, boomerpdx, car crash, community, David Gillaspie, emergency, family, government services, heartbroken family, higher prices, local funding, love letter, my people, rescue party, sending links, stand up, vote, voting day, write, writer

MOTHER’S DAY LADY REVIEW

May 12, 2024 by David Gillaspie

After one miss on Mother’s Day with sick kids, I never missed another. During the phone call to tell her about missing she decided to tell me the nuts and bolts of my adventurous conception. The date, the name of the motel, the works. What mom doesn’t share that story? I’ve since stayed in the […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: child's birth, dads, grandma, grandmother, Grandparents, home birth, MARRIAGE, married, Mom, moms, mother's day, parents, promising future, side chick, the kids, tiny baby, wedding anniversary, WWII

STORM CHASING IN THE CANCER WARD

May 8, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Storm chasing without a tornado on the horizon? The storm in the cancer ward is chemo therapy that runs through everything in your body sweeping out the good and the bad cells. It shakes you down to your core hoping the good cells prevail. Not everyone is built for this particular battle.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomers, boomers, buzzed, cancer, cancer ward, chemo, chemo therapy, Children, deadly deadly condition, doctor, failing, failing health, family intervention, feeding tube, feel high, imminent death, Love, love reaction, medical marijuna, millennials, oxy, storm chaser, the nadir, tornado, weed, weed brownies, young adults

REGRET FREE LIVING? OK BOOMER

May 7, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Regret free living is a goal to start out, then things change. One day anything is possible. The next? Not so much. Somehow we learn about our limitations, that we need to accept things as they are. But, correct me if I’m wrong, there’s still some wiggle room.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: 1000 words, accept things, big regrets, bigger, blog post, blogger, boomerpdx, commitment, couple, daughters, distill moments, endurance, family, faster, fortitude, grandkids, Hemingway, honeymoon, kids, king of the world, lift weights, limitations, lothario, MARRIAGE, married, mother's day, ok boomer, Portland, portland wedding, proposition, regret, regret free, reputation, run, sex, Social media, sports stars, stronger, strut, wedding, write, write more, writer, writing

RIGHT THING? YOU KNOW HOW TO DO IT

May 5, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Doing the ‘right thing’ used to be easier. Maybe is was because baby boomers didn’t have as many choices for doing wrong? I didn’t see a lot of choices besides ‘Do what you’re told’ growing up. From parents, to teachers, to coaches, scout leaders, and beyond, we were told what to do by people we […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: american way, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, better policies, blog, blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, breathe, choices, clean air, clean water, cleaner air, cleaner water, David Gillaspie, defective followers, defective leaders, do the right thing, growing up, justice, pollution, relationships, right thing, taking notes, tiring, truth, writer, writers, writing

PLACING BLAME IN THE RIGHT PLACE

May 1, 2024 by David Gillaspie

What’s the best way of placing blame? Pointing a finger? Yelling? Or checking to make sure there’s anyone or anything to blame? What about the blameless among us who’ve never done anything wrong?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: above reproach, acid, alcohol abuse, blame, blotter, booze, cancer, chronic drunk, college, complaining, doctor, drinking plan, Drinks, drunk, dysfunctional behavior, high school, husband, micro-dot, perfect, placing blame, problem, right place, shot glass, start drinking, tequila, wife, witnesses

WRITING ROOTS: HOW DEEP DO THEY GROW

April 27, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Writing roots are reading roots. Everybody knows that from their first grade if they had a teacher as good as Mrs. Baker. I recall her saying, ‘Our writing is a reflection of our reading.’ I believed it then as I believe it now. (Folding a corner to mark my place in Patrick DeWitt’s novel The […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: characters, comeback story, conflict, English major, family roots, history major, Patrick DeWitt, readers, reading, reading roots, sisters brothers, story, story structure, teacher, work roots, write, writer, writing, writing roots, written story

FRAGILE MEN CLUB? YOU’RE ALREADY SIGNED UP

April 24, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Fragile men had no place in Western American history stories about the savage frontier and cruel hardships. Nor in the early industrialization with mighty oil, steel, and railroad barons casting their deepening shadows across the land. Writers found other virtues to extoll other than common frailties. The western frontier needed stories of valor and sacrifice […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: American History, american west, bitterness, Death, fragile men, fragile men club, frontier, heroes, historian, history buffs, men, Oregon, Oregon Trail, pioneers, racist, regret, sacrifice, scholars, solitude, the west, valor, virtues, western frontier, western history, write about, writers

MICRO MEMOIR II: LEAVING TOWN CHRISTMAS PARTY

April 20, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Leaving town used to be easy, if I remember right. Pack a bag, get in a car, hop on bus, and leave. “I’ll be there in a few days.” Same story going out to Brooklyn as leaving:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: back talk, books, brooklyn, Christmas party, dance, eat, exotic, food, italian, leaving town, library, made men, MARRIAGE, marriage material, memoir, micro memoir, new york, New York City, office buzz, office job, Penn station, relationship, shit talk, subway, sweet talk, talk, talking, Wall Street, write, writer, writing

HARD LOVE DADDY ON A HEALTH KICK

April 16, 2024 by David Gillaspie

I saw hard love work on my Dad after he got his heart fixed. No smoking for the old chimney. The doc said it, the family said it, the friends said it. You’d say it too.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomers, blogger, boomerpdx, caregiving skills, coma, encouragement, family, father, fitness, hard love, health, health kick, ill health, Love, loved one, loved ones, MARRIAGE, medical community, millennials, no smoking, official coma, Oregon, Portland Oregon, smoker, son, story, trend, wife, writers, writing, WWII