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CLEAN DRINKING WATER? I’LL HAVE ANOTHER

This is the Tualatin River water, not drinking water.
With this river running through Washington County to the lake in Lake Oswego, then out to the Willamette, why isn’t it tapped for drinking water in Tigard and LO?
This warning from the Tualatin Riverkeepers lays it out:

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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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toughen up

GET STARTED, KEEP IT GOING

Two of the hardest  words to learn in the English language: Get Started. Most get started after they’re told what to do. “Stand up. Put one foot in front of the other. Repeat. Get started now.” It’s that easy and that hard to get started. With the reported obesity epidemic sweeping the nation’s youth why […]

PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS, pt2: FAMILY TRAUMA

Illness defines family trauma over time and it’s exhausting. Remember the movie Ordinary People? The family dynamic wasn’t defined by illness, but death of a child. It didn’t go well for the emotional state of all. There’s was a sudden adjustment with a lifetime effect. Living with a pre-existing condition, or around others with pre-existing […]

DR MOLE MOVES FROM HILLSDALE BUT STAYS ON CAPITOL HWY

  One of the best parts of being married long term is sharing the other person’s ups and downs. Over time you get to see how they make their way in the world, to see the face they present to each new challenge.   My wife, Elaine, aka Dr Mole of drmolepdx.com online, arrived at […]

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boomer years

LOVE AFFAIRS OR LEARNING AFFAIRS

Do past love affairs affect the future? What happens between two people ought to be like Las Vegas: what happens there stays there. Except it never happens that way between two people, three or four people, or a whole team of people. No judgements, just call it a social agreement between adults who know how […]

COMPASS ROSE CITY PORTLAND

Compass Rose As Eight Ball? You Are Correct. The eight ball works with some people better than others. Ask a question. Smack a stooge. Repeat. For these explorers it works best. Not so much for the rest of us. We need direction. We need a compass rose city Portland sort of direction. And there’s only […]

World’s Factory: China Fills Big Box America To The Brim

  The world’s factory, otherwise known as China, fills big box America from Costco to Target to Walmart.   From Home Depot to Lowe’s the world’s factory supplies America with the suburban necessities.   If it’s electronic components, or sporty textiles, or steel, look for the Made in China tag. You won’t have to look […]

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buckle up

6 STEPS OF EUROPEAN TRAVEL AFTER THE FIRST STEP

  Step One: Admit you’ve been bored to death since your last trip.   You miss making connections, new train stations, airports. The miracle of being on time. Like a caged animal, your travel bug paces. Every Sunday it rattles the gate. That’s when Rick Steves shows up. With a dish. Travel bugs feast on […]

PORTLAND CHRISTMAS SEIZURE

Nothing says Portland Christmas louder than the Pioneer Square Christmas tree. And it’s better to catch up on the view sooner than later. Once December 1 hits it feels like a race to the 25th to get everything in. Make sure you have a big Portland Christmas by seeing the biggest tree all lit up. […]

BILTMORE: BIG MONEY BUILDS A BIG HOUSE

    Sneaking up on the big Biltmore House The first question is appearance. Not the house, you. What do you wear if you’re visiting the biggest privately owned house in America? This isn’t Disneyland and Sleeping Beauty Castle, so shorts and flip flops aren’t good enough? If that’s true, you’ll find dress code violations […]

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