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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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FALLING LEAVES OF AUTUMN

Falling leaves are the rule of the season.
The only place without a carpet of leaves is a parking garage.
But that’s Oregon, famous for trees.
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toughen up

MICHAEL BECKER WALKS WITH PURPOSE

I like people who channel their problems constructively. They’re effective in making me feel like the whiner I’ve always taken pride in.   Michael Becker channels his problems constructively, and he’s a big boost. I found him in a search of cancer memoirs. We’ve exchanged pleasant emails. Have I told him I’m scouting for my […]

Neck Cancer And Alcohol Consumption: U.S. vs Belarus

  Neck cancer? In Belarus? Bela-where? Either check a map or be satisfied that Belarus is an eastern european country that used to be part of the Soviet Union.   And they drink. A lot. Belarus scores #1 on Market Watch’s survey of ten drunkest nations on earth. #2 is Republic of Moldova, #3 Lithuania, […]

Young Boomer Old Boomer

Numbers Don’t Lie? They Might How often do you spring out of bed in the morning ready for the best day of your life? Often? Not often? Never? The good news is the older you get, the better you feel. Or you’re just lying to an interviewer. In England it’s one or the other. Ordinarily […]

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boomer years

BOOMERPDX ARCHIVE, c. 1983

1-10-83 (Monday) A former Oregon governor died last Saturday. Tom McCall breathed his last in the hospital up the street. Good Samaritan. A student nurse in my building cared for him at the end. She said he’s a great guy. Everyone says it. He seems like someone you’d like to know. Oregon history’s Tom Vaughan […]

BOOMER SON OF ENGLAND DIES 13 YEARS AFTER STABBING

Boomer son Alexander Lloyd, dead at age 36, thirteen years after a stabbing left him in the sort of condition that calls for medical miracles. Family care helped him for from age twenty three, then an infection set in that couldn’t be stopped. Alex is the son of my wife’s cousin. My boys met their […]

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 […]

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buckle up

OREGON REST STOP GEORGE

Oregon Rest Stop Is The Best On The West Coast. No one stops at an Oregon rest stop just for the toilet. There’s so much more to do. Walk the dog in the dog yard, picnic tables, and a break from the people you’ve been cooped up with for hours is more important than the […]

VIDANTA EARLY BIRD MEETS THE MIRACLE CREW AT BURGER CUSTOM MADE

    Every Five Diamond resort has a miracle crew, the people who make it all happen day after day, and make it look so easy. You have to look hard to find them, or be a Vidanta early bird.   This crew was busy setting up, busy like a NASCAR pit crew. Professionals one […]

WATERFRONT BLUES FESTIVAL OR BOOT CAMP

Five days of blues is a commitment. I signed to defend the blues by water. The Waterfront Blues Festival has nice river seating. For boats. The rest of us land locked fans see the blues flotilla as background, a tangled background combined with the Tillicum, Marquam, and Ross Island Bridges crossing their lines. When the […]

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