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BETTER LISTENING SKILLS FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING

If practicing better listening skills isn’t a life goal, it should be.
How hard is it to pay attention?
You did it in the classroom with the encouragement of a teacher.
I still remember Mr. Kraus singing ‘Toot toot tootsie goodbye’ when he tossed little tootsie rolls to students with the right answer in algebra.
Maybe we need more of that? Instead we get more of this:

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RETURNING REVERENCE TO IT’S RIGHTFUL PLACE

There’s a scent of reverence in the air, of returning reverence after a long pause.
It started in my doctor’s office where I’d been called to sit on a panel with others.
One of the others was Roy Pittman, one of my personal heroes.
The next time I saw the doctor he told me he was surprised at the way I acted, that I showed reverence to Coach Pittman.
If I did, I didn’t know it. What I remember is feeling awe-struck. Maybe it’s the same thing?
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NBA CHAMPION CROWNED, AGAIN

Becoming an NBA champion is a lifelong goal for every basketball player in the world.
The best want to play the best, beat the best, to tell themselves they’re good enough.
It’s that along with contracts and money and fame.
All of that goes along the wayside when you stop playing in ninth grade like me, or in high school.
Do I blame the coaches that I didn’t become a star, a substitute, or even a benchwarmer?
Noooooo, but . . .
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CLEAN LIVING FOR A QUIET LIFE

Clean living is an art form, and like all art it takes practice.
Yes, we’re talking about practice.
It takes practice to talk without a particular tone, without too much edge.
Do that and you may have a productive conversation.
Go ahead and save the tone and edge for people you don’t know, who don’t know you.
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I READ THE NEWS TODAY OH BOY

The news today is all about world events.
News organizations deliver it every day with the same hype and urgency.
News hounds consume every detail and load it onto the pile they carry in case someone asks them ‘what’s up?’
That’s when you brace yourself for the headlines as if they’re coming from an anchorman. Or woman.
That’s the big news story you NEED to know.
The small news, the stories that make us step back, come out another way.
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toughen up

INFLAMMATION, CHRONIC PAIN, ADDICTION

We all have a horse in the chronic pain race. The best advice after surgery is taking pain pills on a schedule. If you let the pain get ahead of the pain killer, it’s hard to back down. Skip a pill and you might take an extra dose, then double up in half the scheduled […]

HPV16 VACCINE IN CONSUMER REPORTS

The HPV16 vaccine article in Consumer Reports pushes hot buttons across the board. It’s easy to understand why.   I’m a father of two, but it’s more than that. Too many parents are overwhelmed with the joy of their own reproductive skills and the bundle of joy as a result. I know I was.   […]

Caregiving For The Baby Boomer Spouse

3 Ways To Lead, Follow, Or Get Out Of The Way. Who can name the ‘Do Your Own Thing’ generation? How about the ‘March To The Beat Of A Different Drummer’ generation? Or the ‘If You Love Something Set It Free’ generation? The ‘Me’ generation? The one with ‘Radicals And Freaks?’ On a blog called […]

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boomer years

PORTLAND HEAT: HOW TO CELEBRATE BREAKING RECORDS

    Last August one of my partners in crime (aka one of my sons) and I worked on inventory inside a few Arizona warehouses in record breaking heat. At least it broke the record for heat outside a sauna.   Yesterday’s record breaking heat was about thirty five degrees cooler, which was a nice […]

YOUR LIFE IN THREE PARTS: PUBLIC, PRIVATE, AND SECRET

Where Do You Spend The Most Time? Too many times someone passes away and the information doors open. You find out more about them than you ever could have guessed, or wanted to know. How did you miss so much? It happens to everyone, but when someone close to you dies it feels different. Not […]

BOOMERPDX BOOK CHOP

Like Food Channel’s Chopped Except No One Spits On The Pages. The most often heard complaint of the avid reader? “What do I read next? I’m in between books.” Even with libraries and bookstores stocked to the roof, the next book is still an important choice. Museums have research libraries, colleges have academic libraries; hospitals […]

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buckle up

PUBLIC BEACHES FOR OREGON MARINE GARDEN, MARINE RESERVE, MARINE OIL SPILL

    Public beaches usually mean one thing, like the one thing private beaches convey. Public beaches, like Oregon beaches, are available to everyone, anyone.   Private beaches? Not so much. More like a backyard pool.   But what happens when public beaches in Oregon come with obstacles?   What are we supposed to do […]

A LIKE FOR OREGON

What Brings You To A State Isn’t The Same As What Keeps You There. Take Oregon and New York for example. You stay around Portland for different reasons than people stick around NYC. Size is important. For hundreds of miles around Manhattan people won’t leave, never think of leaving, because of the island. “Oh, we […]

MANHATTAN STATES OF MIND ACROSS AMERICA

    Does anyone see a Manhattan sunrise and feel the power of the Big Apple, the urge to go out and take a big bite? Or a Manhattan sunset at the end of another satisfying day sorting chicken and chicken sh!t.   Manhattan promised you could make it anywhere if you could make it […]

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