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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?
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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.

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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?
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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.
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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.
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toughen up

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 […]

BoomerPdx And End Of Life Debate

Oregon wins the trifecta for end-of-life discussion. 1. Oregon Senate Bill 451 establishes the nation’s first state registry of people’s wishes for end-of-life care. 2. U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s H.R. 1898 allows funds for doctors discussing end-of-life choices with their patients. 3. The state has allowed physician-assisted suicide/death with dignity as a final option. In […]

CIGARETTE SMOKE ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM? DON’T DO IT

    Tobacco and cigarette smoke, the stuff of dreams and nightmares.   The dream part comes first. Light a stick and enjoy. All you’ve got to do is breath in, breath out, and watch the cigarette smoke curl into shapes. Later comes the nightmare part, the regret, the tubes, the hospital smell, the faces […]

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boomer years

THE WAY WE WERE, THE WAY WE’LL BE

“In a way, he was like the country he lived in. Things came too easily to him.” In more than one way, Hubbell was like the soft handed little liberals who’ve always had it too easy, wouldn’t you say? They always know what’s best for everyone else while they carry on their dark secrets. Well, the […]

A MAY WEDDING AND ONE LOUD, “I DO,” LATER

A May wedding in a Fir Cathedral and still in the woods thirty one years later. Doesn’t every married couple have a theme song? They should, and it doesn’t have to be the same song forever. Just make it a song older than your marriage. And no Beatles. This ought to be the common default:

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

HIKING BABY BOOMER PORTLAND, pt. 3

Part One and Part Two. Portland bridges move people over the river. They also create fantastic venues for events. Above is Portland’s Mini Maker Faire from Sunday in OMSI’s parking lot. That’s the Marquam Bridge and I-5 overhead. A beautiful thing about Portland is its availability. I left my driveway at 1:30 and parked on […]

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 […]

King Arthur, The Baby Boomer’s Friend In Need

If reading tales of kings and queens encourage a child’s imagination, dragging them up the treacherous goat trails of Tintagel Castle makes it real. Who does that? Baby Boomers seeking greater cultural meaning. King Arthur is a good one to focus on. You know the story well enough to sound like an authority. Sword in the […]

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