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BETTER LISTENING SKILLS FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING

If practicing better listening skills isn’t a life goal, it should be.
How hard is it to pay attention?
You did it in the classroom with the encouragement of a teacher.
I still remember Mr. Kraus singing ‘Toot toot tootsie goodbye’ when he tossed little tootsie rolls to students with the right answer in algebra.
Maybe we need more of that? Instead we get more of this:

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RETURNING REVERENCE TO IT’S RIGHTFUL PLACE

There’s a scent of reverence in the air, of returning reverence after a long pause.
It started in my doctor’s office where I’d been called to sit on a panel with others.
One of the others was Roy Pittman, one of my personal heroes.
The next time I saw the doctor he told me he was surprised at the way I acted, that I showed reverence to Coach Pittman.
If I did, I didn’t know it. What I remember is feeling awe-struck. Maybe it’s the same thing?
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NBA CHAMPION CROWNED, AGAIN

Becoming an NBA champion is a lifelong goal for every basketball player in the world.
The best want to play the best, beat the best, to tell themselves they’re good enough.
It’s that along with contracts and money and fame.
All of that goes along the wayside when you stop playing in ninth grade like me, or in high school.
Do I blame the coaches that I didn’t become a star, a substitute, or even a benchwarmer?
Noooooo, but . . .
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CLEAN LIVING FOR A QUIET LIFE

Clean living is an art form, and like all art it takes practice.
Yes, we’re talking about practice.
It takes practice to talk without a particular tone, without too much edge.
Do that and you may have a productive conversation.
Go ahead and save the tone and edge for people you don’t know, who don’t know you.
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I READ THE NEWS TODAY OH BOY

The news today is all about world events.
News organizations deliver it every day with the same hype and urgency.
News hounds consume every detail and load it onto the pile they carry in case someone asks them ‘what’s up?’
That’s when you brace yourself for the headlines as if they’re coming from an anchorman. Or woman.
That’s the big news story you NEED to know.
The small news, the stories that make us step back, come out another way.
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toughen up

UNCLE CLIFFY, MEDICAL MARIJUANA, PISTIL POINT CANNABIS

Why does it take a dramatic event like a health scare to break out the medical benefits of marijuana? Former Portland Trail Blazer Cliff Robinson, Uncle Cliffy in the industry, had a stroke. Is medical marijuana a cure? Here’s Robinson’s take from oregonlive:

Portland Mole Removal

  How many Portland baby boomers remember when they were pregnant, or their significant others were pregnant?   Didn’t the world seem full of pregnant women?   They were everywhere and you were part of it.   Then you had your baby and you didn’t notice as many pregnant women. Instead you saw a million kids. […]

JAPAN QUESTIONS HPV VACCINE, STD RATES RISE IN CALIFORNIA, PEW RESEARCH SHEDS LIGHT

  Japan questioned the use of an hpv vaccine based on animal research?   Thanks to members of my sharp network of researchers like G. M.-S. I received this news over the facebook wire.   The issue regarding a paper questioning the scientific results got answered when the paper was withdrawn, as it should have […]

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boomer years

MONUMENTS MEN, THE ULTIMATE BOOMER MOVIE

In The Baby Boomer World Encompassed By Boomerpdx, Who Expected This? Waiting a few weeks to review a new movie isn’t the sort of thing that pumps box office numbers. You want to hit it on the first night, or even better score a ticket to a preview showing. Timely reviews push new movies hard, […]

MAN ANTHEM FOR MODERN TIMES

Every era has a song. This era needs a Man Anthem. This Man Anthem is inspired by Barney the Purple Dinosauer and the Republican National Convention. The epicenter of male testosterone in America is Cleveland, Ohio. As if to prove it, Candidate Trump took the stage the way Mr. McMahon takes to the ring. Into […]

HOW A BOOMER HEART BREAKS

Which generation has the best broken hearts? Baby boomer heart breaks lead the pack. Remember the first time your boomer heart broke? Something went wrong. Someone said the wrong thing. Was it a mistake, a misunderstanding? Don’t get the shovel and start digging it out. Don’t check your high school year book. If you cut […]

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buckle up

NYC SUBWAY CHRISTMAS FAIL

Overheard in the mall. “One Christmas fail made me frightened to ride the subway.” I borrowed a suit from a friend, sky blue, for the office Christmas party that turned into the biggest Christmas fail. The only reason it doesn’t count is I wasn’t married or had kids or lived at home. It was me […]

MEXICO TRAVEL: PUERTO VALLARTA PERFECTION, pt2

    First thing you’ll need is a new hat. Pick one, maybe two.   Once you get into the swing of things you can adjust.   Not a hat person? You are now.

PORTLAND: THE FOG OF HISTORY

Yesterday’s Tomorrow – A Portland Journey. From the street under your feet to the places you walk by everyday, the untold story unfolds. Except you never see it. We live in the moment. Moving from one place to another is our goal, and it’s enough. But it’s not enough for everyone. It’s not enough for […]

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