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BOOMER WALK IN COOK PARK

A boomer walk is like any walk.
Put on a pair of shoes and lay one foot after the other. Simple, right?
But since it’s a boomer thing, there’s more.
There’s always more. In this case . . .
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BASIC APPRECIATION OF COMMON THINGS

A basic appreciation is important for context.
Things are usually more complicated than they seem.
A brick is a brick, just some fired up mud, until you see them working together.
In the hands of a skilled craftsman, a brick is a jewel.
What else deserves a second look? A towel rack.
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TALKING DOWN TO SOMEONE? WHY

How can you tell when someone is talking down to you?
It might be the clarification questions you ask that gets them annoyed to the point of explaining everything a few times, very slowly.
Or it might their regular way of communicating.
Which leads to more questions, like, “Why be a jerk?
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toughen up

WORK ON HABITS, COMPULSIONS, ADDICTIONS, NOT GOALS?

Work on habits, not goals? What about goal oriented people?   Long term goals don’t happen overnight. You achieve them by doing the little things. For instance, you decide you’d like to run a marathon. Do you find the nearest race with the closest date and just sign up? Some people do, but what would […]

CANCER ESSAY GIVES DIRECTIONS TO ‘CANCERLAND’ AND BACK

    The ties that bind us are few and far between. Instead of vines like Tarzan’s jungle swing time, they’re more like rope climb in junior high gym class.   You get to the top and back down and collect your honor: another chance to climb to the rope top and touch the roof […]

CANCER ROOM: BEST OF TIMES, WORST OF TIMES

The biggest motivation for writing a cancer room memoir like ‘LICKING CANCER, The Full Response’ is paying tribute to the people I met in there.   From staff to patients, it’s a team focused on the same goal, until it goes off the tracks, and it does in one way or the other for everyone. […]

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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 […]

THE PORTLAND DREAM GROWS DARK

  Move to Portland, it’ll be fun they say You’ll learn to love clouds on a sunny day It might be weird but you’ll like that Bring your flannel and a lumberjack hat   Move to Portland and bring your skills The new people know how to find the deals Where food is organic, free […]

TEACHER ABUSE BAD FOR STUDENT BODY

  How does a seasoned school administrator lose their job by ignoring students? When they decide some student voices are more important than others.   The old saying about a squeaky wheel getting the grease may apply here, but the school official was out of lube. Now they’re out of a job, or will be […]

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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 […]

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 […]

TURNING PORTLAND INTO A STOP ON THE WAY TO SEATTLE

Turning Portland skyline The First Interstate Tower and Big Pink set a future that didn’t happen. Concerned citizens got a break before turning Portland into mini-Seattle One tall building was enough, or so the thought went, but two is better? Because they’re bookends instead of standing side by side, the space between them look as […]

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