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MAKING THE CANCER CALL 2026

Ten years ago I got the cancer call.
Me: Hello.
Doc: Are you sitting down?
Me: Yes. (I was in the bathroom.)
Doc: The tests came back. You have cancer.
Me: That’s not good.
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OPENING NIGHT AT THE ROSE GARDEN

I watched the Rose Garden, home to your Portland Trail Blazers, rise up on the Northeast bank of the mighty Willamette River.
From opening night until now it’s been . . . thirty-one years?
As long as the Memorial Coliseum stands, the Rose Garden will always be the new kid on the block.
And now it’s old and tired?
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A LIFE CELEBRATION

Remember the guy who took shooting pool to a whole ‘nother level?
Who knew where to find a good table and fifty cent beers?
That was Rob Brown in Eugene when we went to UofO.
While he had a drive to succeed, he knew how to take a break.
In that sense he was a host who understood how to pull people together.
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RETIREMENT WARNINGS FOR BOOMERS IN THE FAST LANE

You’re in the fast lane and know it when you pull up on a Waymo car.

 

Waymo has named the Rose City as one of the next locations welcoming its own fleet of self-driving vehicles.
As part of the announcement, the company revealed it will start manually operating the cars on Tuesday to “help familiarize the Waymo Driver with Portland’s distinct streetscapes — from its iconic bridges to its bustling, rain-slicked corridors.”

 

I saw this rig in town and thought, ‘The future has arrived.’
Who is ready for the future? Baby boomers are ready.
Sort of?
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ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR REMINDER FROM VETERANS ADMINISTRATION MAILER

As a veteran of the President Gerald Ford Army of 1974-76, I feel I know what acceptable behavior is without a reminder from the Veteran’s Administration in 2026.
I knew the program way before joining the Army.
Where did I gain such valuable information? The Boy Scouts.
This all rings true from Acceptable Behaviors listed on the mailer:
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toughen up

Cancer Message Still In The Merck Ad Mess

  Call me a late bloomer. Maybe you are too? My discoveries and enthusiasm come after most things have moved on. But it still counts for something. At least that’s what I tell myself. I’m telling you, too, it still counts, you still count.   I’m late to see the parent shaming ad for hpv16 […]

BOOMERPDX DIET TIP

Five things to stop eating? Or zero? That’s A BoomerPdx Diet Tip. C – carbonated drinks R – refined sugar A – artificial sweeteners &colors P – processed foods Why stop eating anything? White bread, white rice, pasta. Sugar and cream. Stop eating that? Too controversial. Food is nutritional, cultural, and historical. Bread means farming […]

LIFE STAGES WITH ELISABETH KUBLER-ROSS

    Instead of death and dying, use the same grief progression for living and life stages. It fits just as well, after all no one said life was easy. Sometimes living is a downer until we find something to live for.   Life stages go beyond the chronographic scale, like the Terrible Twenties, the […]

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boomer years

DELICATE DANCE OF FRAGILE FRIENDSHIP

    Can friendship survive if you say the wrong thing at the right time, the right thing at the wrong, or even the right thing at the right time.   If someone says the wrong thing at the wrong time, the friendship is doomed. No matter what the relationship, the wrong thing at the […]

ALIENATED BOOMERS VS MODERN HIPPIE

Take a good look at the next Millennial hippie. A twenty-something in tie dye, hygiene averse, stands next to their custom made bicycle at a happening brew pub. This isn’t a Halloween costume, it’s their outfit of choice. Call it lifestyle for lack of a better term. Just don’t call it throwback. Their choice of […]

MILLENNIAL CELEBRITIES EXPLAIN AGING. WHO’S LISTENING?

The Dude Abides, Man. Boomers getting older. It’s a subject with a bright spotlight. From kids born between 1946 – 1964, from youthful fifty years olds to an ancient sixty eight, no generation said it louder, “We’re young and pretty, and you’re not.” Since their early go-to-hell days, baby boomers discovered they’re not any more […]

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buckle up

HISTORIC MICHIE TAVERN IN VIRGINIA FOR LUNCH HISTORY

Did Thomas Jefferson have a favorite tavern? If he did, and he was a good neighbor, it would have been the Michie Tavern. Not far from his home, Monticello, Michie Tavern was right there at the bottom of the hill. Except it was moved from miles away, which doesn’t mean it wasn’t a favorite watering […]

YOSEMITE IN AUGUST

Is It Worth The Time And Money To See Yosemite In August? The short answer is yes, but don’t pack your bag just yet. It’s a long drive from Portland to Yosemite, so careful plans are in order. You’ve planned a trip before? Sure you have. At least you’ve been on planned trips, so you’ve […]

AN AMERICAN MEMOIR FOR THE POPE

When The Pope Visited Philadelphia In The Shadow Of Rocky. Picture yourself in the land of our forefathers, walking on ground won by American blood. It’s the same American blood flowing through every American. That’s Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War and every war since. Two hundred years later Philadelphia was the site of President Ford’s […]

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