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THE BEST BOB HOPE CHRISTMAS SHOW

When servicemen spent time away from loved ones, a Bob Hope Christmas Show helped. Christmas 1974, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas. Part of joining the ranks of the new all-volunteer Army meant meeting a new bunch of guys. They weren’t sports guys, or college guys. They weren’t career guys, or upwardly mobile guys. Instead […]

BOOMER STRIP CLUB FAIL

New parents find new friends for their kids. Boomer strip club daddy is one to avoid. So there you are, on a play date with kids and wives and dads. I was one of the dads. It’s all going so well. No one is throwing toys, no one is bleeding or crying. At least not […]

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 […]

A FAN LETTER TO WASHINGTON

How Often Does An American President Come To Town? Fan Letter Worthy. Dear Mr. President, Thank you for coming to Roseburg, Oregon last week. Those who have felt the sharp loss of loved ones know why you came. America needs your sort of leadership at all levels. As an Army veteran of 1974-76, the first […]

GRANDMOTHER GUNS IN PORTLAND

A True Story About Grandmother Guns In Portland Oregon. An elderly lady pulled her car into her NE Portland garage on a hot day. I was there to pick up a museum donation, three quilts for the Oregon Historical Society. Museums love fragile textiles, product packaging, anything you’d throw away a hundred years ago. Quilts […]

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 […]

SUICIDE WALL BY ALEX PAUL

You know a Vietnam Veteran who knows someone on the wall. They all know someone. It’s a teammate or high school friend who never made the Christmas letter list. The men who adjusted to a post-Vietnam War life have friends who remind them of a missing someone. If you talk to them long enough you’ll discover […]

BOOMER AND THE BOMB

Every August Brings The Atomic Winds Of The Bomb Howling Out Of History. History is more than binge watching the Hitler Channel with a few War In The Pacific shows tossed in for balance. If history is your passion, but you aren’t a history major with an advanced degree, your opinion still matters. Every August […]

HOW HARD? BOOMER HARD

Growing Up During Baby Boomer Years Made You Hard. The last thing you want to be called is soft. Soft in the head, soft in the gut, soft arms. Part of living a sedentary life, not a lazy life but not active, is how it leaves a body. Soft. Soft and lumpy after too many […]

MEMORIAL DAY AT THE VA

Memoir: How To Make A Difference On Memorial Day. In the early 80’s a man moved to Portland from New York City. An Oregon man. He moved in with the best girl he’d ever known. Up until then. She was THE ONE, if one ever existed. Up until then. Keep in mind those who think […]