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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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PIE DELIVERY FROM NICOLETTA’S TABLE

Pie delivery is easy with such elegant packages.
Two pies, pumpkin and pecan, all wrapped and ready.
Nicoletta’s Kitchen is full of surprises.
But how do they get from point A to point B?
Me.
[Read More…]

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toughen up

BOOMER FOUNDATION

or, HOW MY EIGHTY SIX YEAR OLD MOTHER IN LAW OUT-WALKS YOU You’ve heard the saying “You can’t know someone until you’ve walked in their shoes.” For Portland baby boomers it might be Birkenstocks with socks, which I like. You walk in their footsteps. Or take their path. What’s it mean?

PREPARE FOR A DOCTOR VISIT

Do you get in shape for your doctor visit? For too many men it takes an force of nature to schedule a doctor visit. Women, not so much. That force of nature is called a wife after she makes an appointment two months away. She knows you’ll go; you know you’ll go. How you show […]

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 […]

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boomer years

BOOMER GENERATION BREAKS AMERICA ON TIME COVER BUT NOT IN OUR HEARTS

    At some point every generation can take credit for breaking America. The pinata of democracy is strong enough to take a few whacks.   It helps that those swinging the stick are usually too old to do much damage, but watching them still hurts.   Steven Brill explains it all for baby boomers, […]

THE COMMAND VOICE

You know it forever if you’ve heard the Command Voice. The voice of leadership is the Command Voice. You follow instructions better when it comes from that place. If you joined the Gerald Ford Army of 1974 and did basic at Fort Ord, you heard the command voice, you heard General Patton outline what to […]

BOOMER CHALLENGES NEVER STOP

A common theme among Baby Boomers, the 50-68 year olds born between 1946-64? Boomer challenges. As kids we were challenged to make sense of our Depression-era parents. We never will. The magnitude of desperation in the 1930’s is too hard to grasp. How desperate? Jump out the highest window desperate. Shoot yourself in the brain […]

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buckle up

DESTINATION PORTLAND

Once you move out, the city becomes a backdrop for Destination Portland. Oregonlive posted the story 9 Legit Reasons To Leave Portland For The Suburbs. Like millions of stories to stay in the Rose City, there’s just as many for leaving. The more questions you ask people about leaving Portland, the more you realize no […]

AT THE TRIMET BUS STOP, pt 2

One part of weird Portland, the Keep Portland Weird part, is SantaCon near a TriMet bus stop. If you’re a fan of SantaCon and like dressing up in Santa gear and bar crawling Portland, then you’ve seen this. If you’ve never dressed been a Santa, this is your chance. Drinking beer with hundreds of Santas […]

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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