page contents Google

ARMY ENLISTMENT? HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Me: Today is my Army enlistment anniversary. Did you remember.
Wife: It’s also the day my Mom died.
Me: It is? I mean, yes, it is, and also my anniversary.
Wife: I’m glad you remember it.
Me: And there’s another thing to celebrate on the same date.
Wife: What?
[Read More…]

BOOMER BLOGGERS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. TOO CLOSE?

As a cohort of boomer bloggers, I read all about them.
From posts and opinions, to ABOUT pages, we’re all about challenges and adventures, the places we’ve been, places we’re going.
Take this picture for example. It’s from the Portland Art Museum page.
Does that big golden ring look like an adventure, some kind of portal? Yes?
What do you do when you see a portal? Jump in.

[Read More…]

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?
[Read More…]

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.
[Read More…]

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.
[Read More…]

More Posts from this Category

toughen up

MEDICAL MARIJUANA FOR A DOSE OF CANCER

    Medical marijuana? Isn’t that just an excuse to get loaded without consequences, like jail? That’s what Pat thinks. I caught a rather painful case of cancer and tried one oxy pill, and one nip of liquid oxy, which changed nothing.   Why would marijuana be different?   At a desperate moment I tried […]

BREAST CANCER: A MOTHER JONES FACEBOOK POST ASKS IF ALCOHOL IS A CAUSE. WHAT ARE OTHER CANCER CAUSES?

    From motherjones.com:   Susan Sontag once wrote that telling people about your cancer diagnosis tends to fill them with mortal dread. But when I’ve disclosed my illness to friends and told them that alcohol can cause breast cancer, I’ve never invoked enough mortal dread to deter anyone from ordering a second drink. Most women […]

DIVORCE NEW NORMAL: “WAS IT ANOTHER GUY?”

    Older people, a goal baby boomers are moving toward at hyper speed, have heard more joy and heartache than anyone else. We’ve got at least ten thousand hours in each encompassing most every possible outcome.   At recent bar stop I learned a whole new take on divorce for modern times. It came […]

More Posts from this Category

boomer years

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 […]

MILLENNIALS LIVE WITH PARENTS

Is it a good thing, or failure to launch? Talk to baby boomers and ask when they moved out. You get the same answer most of the time. “Right after high school,” is common. “After college,” is usual. It’s ‘after’ something. After deciding they don’t want any parent telling them what to do? After hearing, […]

HOW TO EXPLAIN MODERN PROBLEMS TO THE GREATEST GENERATION

Boomers in the Sandwich Generation have a lot to cover. Wedged between the Greats from WWII and Millennials, baby boomers in combined households find one group over-informed by network news, and the other who understand world events from Comedy Central. The younger group has time to figure things out on their terms. To the older […]

More Posts from this Category

buckle up

THE BRIGHT ANGEL SIDE OF LIFE

Bright Angel is the name of the trail that runs from rim to rim across the Grand Canyon. It’s a place to meet new friends and enjoy the outdoors. An interpretation of Bright Angel is Baby Boomer ass kicker. If you make it down a mile and a half to the first bathroom/water stop and […]

EXTRA ROOM AIRPLANE SEATS? FOR WHO?

  From the crowds I’ve seen at airports, people have learned to negotiate the hurdles. With the hope of not being the only old and confused passenger, OCP, I pay attention.   Walk up to a screen near the airline you’re flying and key in the info you copied at home from a confirmation email […]

ASTORIA BOOKS, ASTORIA DOCUMENTARY, ASTORIA PLAY

Call it Little Big Astoria?   No one doubts the importance of Astoria in Oregon history. Little Big Astoria looms in the imagination from early sea captains challenging the Columbia Bar, to Lewis and Clark showing up overland, to today. The fish packing, lumber mills, and ebb and flow of new people keep Astoria current. […]

More Posts from this Category