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WANTED MAN vs NEEDED. THERE’S A DIFFERENCE?

If you’re waiting for a wanted man to make life better, you’ll be waiting a minute.
This man was a one-float parade around Silverton during my last visit.
You could hear him from blocks away with his booming sound system blasting AC/DC.
When I left, he followed my car out of town, then turned back at the city limits.
He was either a one float parade or a motor escort service.
Either way, I asked myself: Are there town characters everywhere?
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ONE PORTLAND JOURNEY: MINE

I got off the bus at the end of my Portland journey, only to begin the real deal.
This is where I lived after breaking up.
My usual move after a break up was moving to bigger and better.
For instance, I broke up in Delaware and moved to Brooklyn, NY.
Here, I broke up in far SE and moved downtown Portland.
This building had a lot of break up apartments, so I was in good company.
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CLASSIC PORTLAND RIVALRY

Social media Portland isn’t for the weak of heart.
It’s either heaven on earth, or a hell hole from the underworld sticky goo.
If you showed up recently, things are looking better; if you’ve been here a minute you’ve seen the ups and downs.
Lastly, if you’ve lived here your whole life? Uh oh.
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PORTLAND BRIDGES – 1971

Every city with a river have one thing in common: bridges.
Portland bridges crisscross the Willamette River over and over to keep traffic moving.
There’s more of them today than 1971, not to mention upgrades.
The 405 is more of river of cars, and like every river it needs bridges to keep the city moving.
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PORTLAND, OREGON – 1971 – DRIVE CAREFULLY

Portland, Oregon, city of dreams, or the end of the line.
The end of the western line may be Astoria, but let’s stick to Portland.
This blog post shows approaches to town on different roads.

 

Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, doing the best you can
Well it’s all right, as long as you lend a hand

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toughen up

ONE LOVE STORY

It Started Like Love Story, Then Everyone Said They Were Sorry. A nice man and nice lady met and became a nice couple. When they got married they were nice newly weds. They were nice parents when they had kids. A great family in the making, then things changed. One of the parents needed more, […]

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT OSCAR GOES TO?

Who deserves the Oscar for the Affordable Care Act? Health insurance used to be simple when I was young. At least it seemed simple. Mom and Dad took me to the doctor when things looked funky, like my collarbone. Things break on kids, like bones when they fly through the air and land awkwardly. Have […]

Neck Cancer … What Is It Good For … Absolutely Nothing

A reader left a comment recently that moved me to respond in a universal way.   Hey Patrick,   Thanks for coming over to boomerpdx. A quick question: How did you find me and this topic. I write about it a lot, but not too many show up in comments like you. I’m glad you’ll […]

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boomer years

THE BAD SIDE OF TOWN

It Matters When The Bad Side Of Town Is Better Than Your Town Now. Remember those days, those second bike days, the days after your first bike? You moved up. You were cool. You were road worthy. And you knew how to cruise with the quarter you stole from your mom’s purse. You’d leave through […]

BEAVERTON, PORTLAND’S EASTSIDE FOR ADULTS

  Beaverton sees Portland as a necessity of suburban life. They need a city nearby But it doesn’t work the other way around. Portland sees Beaverton in the same lot as Tigard, Lake Oswego, Gresham, even Vancouver. Suburbs feeding off the urban tube. You can defend any town, but a suburb takes more thought. Start […]

A BOOK NO PARENT SHOULD HAVE TO WRITE

And Every Parent Should Read. Conner Luby died in a car crash. As I wrote that line in the lobby of a hotel near the Arizona State campus a one year old boy turned the corner before his dad showed up. We both smiled and he wobbled along when his father caught up. The dad […]

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buckle up

THE PORTLAND RIVIERA ON NORTH MISSISSIPPI

Is there such a thing as the Portland Riviera? When you hear the words French Riviera what comes to mind? Movie stars? Warm, sandy, beaches? France? How about the Spanish Riviera? It’s in the same neighborhood, same water, as the French Riviera, but not as famous. These two Rivieras don’t have signs designated at ‘clothing […]

SPACE NEEDLE BECOMES LAMP POST IF SEATTLE GROWS THE WRONG DIRECTION

    Reading right to left the image of Seattle changes from working port town Seattle to big league sports town Seattle to gorgeous big-city-over-water skyline Seattle, the equal to any world center. And then the forgotten Space Needle. There it is all by itself on the left. Alone. Can we finally agree? Seattle is […]

SEATTLE WORKS HARD FOR THE TOP SPOT

    A money man gave me the short history of how important places draw the right people to them, how they work. In the emerging Industrial Revolution world London was the center of the universe. Anyone with dreams and aspirations of being somebody, of one day being The Man, moved to London. Things changed […]

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