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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

AMERICAN CTE: FOOTBALL AND DRIVING

The last thing good baby boomer helicopter parents wanted was their precious getting his brain rattled loose. But they have friends, friends with dads who coach youth football. “I hear your boy’s a good kicker. He want to play some ball?” And he’s on the team, from sixth grade kicker to pulling guard on a […]

Health Writing? Start With Cancer And Drill Down

  Health writing is about bringing hope to the afflicted. Cancer writing, not so much. One is about the future and the steps to make it better. The other is layered with dread.   One is about improving conditions, about personal bests, about gains; the other is layered with dread.   Health writing brings nutrition, […]

IAN KARMEL’S BOOMER GYM ALERT

Based On Ian Karmel And Everything As F##k: A Warning Voice From His Generation To Boomers. Too many fitness fanatics urge us to better health. And we ignore them. You can’t ignore Ian Karmel. The Portland comedian and Portland Mercury columnist writes about his gym experience, the same gym experience boomers have been dodging. What […]

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boomer years

Humanities: Way Of Life Or Waste Of Time?

  What comes to mind when you hear the word Humanities, when a friend says they’re going to college to study Humanities?   Ask around and get back to me. I did it and came up with a few examples.   1-What are humanities?   2-Aren’t those the hippopotamus cousins that live in the Florida […]

PICKING UP CO-EDS 70’S STYLE

Which One Was You? Before social media, meeting co-eds at college meant leaving the basement. Starbucks moved into the space on the opposite end of the block from the U of O bookstore. It the seventies it was a college bar, the best place on the street for 21 and over students. And everyone else. […]

SHARING BABY BOOMER FITNESS GOALS

  If severe illness limits mobility, what do you do for baby boomer fitness?   If sitting is the safest place besides bed, how do you stay fit? More important, how can you help someone in such a condition? That was the challenge when I became caregiver for my Parkinson’s afflicted father in law. The […]

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buckle up

NEW IMPORT FOR OREGON BEER FANS

Wicked Weed, Asheville, NC, for Oregon beer fans. Name a better brand for Oregon beer fans than Wicked Weed. All things considered, it’s perfect. To make it even better, Wicked Weed Brewing makes great beer, one in particular. You won’t turn into one, but Freak of Nature rises to the top of my road beer […]

CAN OREGON SPORTS LEARN FROM ARIZONA

It’s About More Than Sun Screen. Oregon sports fans share one thing in common. We look for ways to relate sports to life. We like to make it personal no matter where we are. But where do you find Oregon sports in Mesa, Arizona? I was lost until I pulled into the Chicago Cubs spring training […]

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. […]

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