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HISTORICAL FATHER’S DAYS 2026

Historical Father’s Days in the olde country where I watched my children roam like Vikings conquering a new land.
Corfe Castle fell to my marauders.
The locals didn’t like our style of exploration.
The walkway through the ruins led to more investigation off the path.
“How would you like it if we went to your country and climbed on the Jefferson monument?”
“If it was in ruins like this it sounds fun.”

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FARMING DISASTER DONE ON PURPOSE

So much of the awful results of the farming disaster in the old Soviet Union came from bad policy decisions.
In the early 1930’s their main guy Stalin decided he knew more about science and farming than anyone.
He also had advisers explaining it to him in a way he agreed with.
Who doesn’t love the unconditional, “You are right, comrade.”
There was no room for disagreement.

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FOLLOW THE LEADER? NOT SO FAST

‘Follow the leader,’ they say.
‘It’ll be a fun learning experience.’
If that’s a green light for you, take another look.
Maybe ask a question like, ‘Where are we going?’
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RESPECT PEOPLE WHO TRUST YOU, OR . . .

This is the shocking end to a man trusted to respect people in his country.
It was all good until it wasn’t.
Is there a lesson to learn?
The people he governed had had enough and voted him out?
Nooooo.
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AUDIENCE RECOGNITION: KNOW THE ROOM

Albert Einstein had audience recognition with his letter in 1939.
His audience?
Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States.
He knew the room.
It was one person.

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toughen up

BOOMERITIS, OR WHY DOES IT HURT WHEN I DO THIS?

The Longer You Let Yourself Go, The Longer The Trail Back. One doctor joke goes like this: “It hurts when I raise my arm.” Doc says, “Don’t raise your arm.” It’s as funny the first time as it is the last, if you don’t have arm pain. Most of us have pain from one thing […]

BICYCLE DAY FOLLOWED BY 420? CALL A DOCTOR, STAT

    Call a doctor and ask about the medical qualities of acid and weed. Maybe your doc has some non-medical experience to share, but probably won’t.   If your medical provider isn’t in the loop, boomerpdx will shine some light. No, not crack the sky light from the heavens above with a big voice […]

RESPECT WOMEN IF YOU RESPECT YOURSELF

It’s hard to respect women, or anyone, unless you respect yourself.   Find a mirror and give it a hard look while you’re in front of it. Do you respect the image reflected back? If not, get to work. You’ve heard this saying, “You say you respect someone if you can’t say you like them.” […]

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boomer years

THE BIRTHDAY BOY: HOW TO CELEBRATE YOUR DAD’S DAY

The Gillaspie children Wayne, Cleo, and Rex, c. 1948. This May 8th my Dad would have been 84 years old. Birthdays are important. To all baby boomers: Call your parents on their birthday. To all hipsters: Get off your scooter and show your parents you were raised right. Call them. To all millennials: Follow the […]

Another Moment Of All American Serendipitous Patriotism

    “If you’ve ever wondered what you’d have done had you lived during the era of slavery, the Holocaust, or the Civil Rights Movement — whether you’d have stood & spoken up; whether you’d have intervened to help someone or been complicit in harming them through your silence — you have your answer.   […]

SCORING THE COMPLAIN GAME

The Married’s Complain Game. How Good Is It? For the complain game to work right, you need to score early. BOB The movie starts in five minutes. We’re late. CAROL I wouldn’t be late if you remembered to call. We miss the previews? Oh boo. The movie is The Godfather. You want to see the […]

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buckle up

TRAVEL ENGLAND WITH FOREVER YOUNG MILLENNIALS

  Aging in travel England Some moments remain frozen in time for better or worse. Remember when you missed middle school graduation and summer football workouts? Your parents decided to drag you around England instead. And your life was ruined. That last thing you wanted to do was be a show pony for your folks. […]

THE EXPLOSIVE BEAUTY OF THE NW

One Rule: Everything Changes. No, this isn’t the only region with snow on the mountains and this isn’t the only mountain. The Cascade Range pops up like continental acne, fueled by ocean crust diving under the heavier land plates, melting, and voila, volcanos. Capturing the power of geological force is one thing, capturing elemental force […]

Japanese Exchange Student A Perfect Portland Fit

    What’s better than traveling to new places and meeting the locals? Being the locals and meeting travelers. A Japanese exchange student proved the rule this summer.   With kids out of high school and college you’d think a couple of empty nest boomers would enjoy themselves with the usual things baby boomers get […]

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