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TAKING PART IN FAMILY LIFE

Family life takes time. Ask the Baldwins with their seven kids.
Keep that in mind, you youngsters, when you decide it’s time to join in.
Join the club, the family club, sooner than later.
Why?
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THE TRUTH, GETTING A HANDLE

Getting a handle on the truth shouldn’t be a big hurdle to clear.
All it takes is a little self-awareness.
The truth is your friend if you’re not too sketchy.
Will it set you free? Well . . .
It depends on the sort of shackles your used to.
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‘DOING RESEARCH’ AND OTHER EXCUSES

What counts as doing research?
For writers it’s an easy answer: Everything is research.
And because everything is research, the trick is finding what matters more.
Is it writing about where you are, how you feel, the people you’re with?
The correct answer? All of the above.
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TWO STORIES + ONE MAN = GREAT LITERATURE? OK LEO

Where does great literature come from?
From more than two stories, but first about ‘that man.’
The great literature man.
Where does he come from?
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GRACE AND DIGNITY FOR AGING MILLENNIALS

I became my ‘brother’s keeper’ through misjudgment, and it wasn’t my brother but my father in-law.
Same idea, though. I think it’s the same idea.
And it was misjudgment, not a mistake.
What happened?
[Read More…]

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toughen up

Neck Cancer And Alcohol Consumption: U.S. vs Belarus

  Neck cancer? In Belarus? Bela-where? Either check a map or be satisfied that Belarus is an eastern european country that used to be part of the Soviet Union.   And they drink. A lot. Belarus scores #1 on Market Watch’s survey of ten drunkest nations on earth. #2 is Republic of Moldova, #3 Lithuania, […]

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 […]

HPV16 TONGUE CANCER HARD TO UNDERSTAND? HOLD MY BEER

        Hpv16 tongue cancer is hard to understand, but only if you look at the numbers.   From cbsnews.com:   Eleven million American men are infected with oral human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to cancers of the head, neck and throat, a new study reports.   That equates to 1 in 9 […]

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boomer years

PORTLAND HOLIDAY HURLING SEASON

Somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas you’ll find Portland Holiday Hurling Season. (Overheard at Portland Saturday Market.) I love this time of year. That’s right, as corny as it sounds, I love it. Family and friends and toasts and food. What’s not to love. Even the one time I took an early out on an evening’s […]

COMMUNICATION BLIND SPOT IN THE EAR

    Long married couples carry a blind spot in their ear on certain topics; they’ve talked about things, or only one thing, so often the momentum of communication is too great to stop.   Try and reset the bar of understanding on those things in the blind spot. It might be the best gift […]

HIGH GROUND TO VIETNAM VET MEMORIAL: a photo essay

“The high ground is good.” That’s what the old timer said. “And there’s not so many people.” I found him under the Vietnam Veterans of Oregon Memorial bridge, sitting in a lawn chair and handing out pamphlets on Veteran’s Day. Had his car parked on one side of a flowerbed and a walkway without a […]

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buckle up

Walking Portland Memory Lane One Alley At A Time

As much as you hear about people moving to Portland, loving Portland once they get here, it’ll never be their home until they’re walking Portland on memory lane.   Like, “This is where I used to play basketball, where I got beat by a five foot six opponent,” didn’t ring up the oooos and ahs […]

2 PROBLEMS WITH THIRD PARTY HOTEL BOOKING

    Hotel booking in Los Angeles is easy. Fly in for sun and fun, then…   What’s not to love about an LA trip. You’ve got the weather, the beaches, the beach town. Don’t forget the palm trees. Palm tree lined streets just scream LA in a a touristy way. For the locals it’s […]

PORTLAND’S FARM TRIP

How Far Away Is Portland’s Farm, Portland’s Midwest? Not Far At All. Do you ever imagine golden waves of grain while sweating it out in your hotbox apartment? You wait for a breeze to blow through the crops in your mind while heat mirages rise off the asphalt beach parking lot. Or you’re standing in […]

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