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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

CANCER STORIES: FEEDING PUBLIC FEAR AND PRIVATE WOE

Things you’ll never know until you get cancer, any cancer:   You’ll either be an object of sympathy, or an antenna of sympathy. Or both.   “Keep up the fight,” or, “You’re a fighter,” or “You look like you’ve got this thing whipped.”   That’s what I heard after running Hood To Coast at 49 […]

CIGARETTE SMOKE ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM? DON’T DO IT

    Tobacco and cigarette smoke, the stuff of dreams and nightmares.   The dream part comes first. Light a stick and enjoy. All you’ve got to do is breath in, breath out, and watch the cigarette smoke curl into shapes. Later comes the nightmare part, the regret, the tubes, the hospital smell, the faces […]

HEALTHCARE COSTS, INSURANCE MISTAKES

    Did anyone notice a senate vote on healthcare costs from insurance mistakes? It happens everyday across America. Has it happened to you? On a regular basis throughout my healthcare adventure with HPV16 throat cancer I’ve been billed by mistake. Take yesterday for example.

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boomer years

BABY BOOMER’S LIFE FLASHES BEFORE HIS EYES

Clearing Out The File Cabinet. The kid on the right is learning the ropes. He’s your gentle BoomerPdx blogger looking like he’s crying in wrestling practice. It just looks that way. Really. If I was crying it was tears of happiness for having such a great teacher like Robin Richards. Later the same year Robin […]

TEACHER ABUSE BAD FOR STUDENT BODY

  How does a seasoned school administrator lose their job by ignoring students? When they decide some student voices are more important than others.   The old saying about a squeaky wheel getting the grease may apply here, but the school official was out of lube. Now they’re out of a job, or will be […]

LIFE LONG LEARNING STARTS EARLY

Baby Boomers do life long learning out of habit. What’s your excuse? Yes, I’m certified for leadership. At least that’s what the Fort Ord Leadership Academy says. What does a 21 Hour Leader Preparation Program do? In the wrong hands it turns a decent person into a tyrant. In the right hands it makes for […]

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buckle up

HOW TO WIN THE STARLIGHT PARADE

Answer 5 Questions To Win The Starlight Parade From The Suburbs. 1. You traveled to the Starlight Parade by: A. Bus, of course. I live my life by Tri-met. My vacations are all Tri-met vacations. Nothing beats a Tri-met schedule. We all feel the same here. B. Drove to the train. I enjoy public transportation […]

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 […]

ELON MUSK JOINS THE SHARING ECONOMY WITH TESLA PATENTS

And Slaps George Selden’s Face In The Act. In a rare case of reverse capitalism, visionary Elon Musk gave away the farm by open sourcing Tesla electric automobile patents. He gave it away instead of using the patents to sue everyone who infringed on the technology. Now auto makers the world around have access to […]

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