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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

SWING HARD OR SOFT, BUT HIT THE SWEET SCIENCE

If The Heavy Bag Could Talk No matter the age or gender, we never lose the urge to fight. We fight for one thing or another all our lives. It’s not always called a fight, but it can feel like it. And you can still win. During the 1920’s Golden Age of Sports, college football, […]

KA-BAR TO THE RESCUE AGAINST BEARS AND OTHERS

  One of the benefits of being an Armed Forces veteran from the mid-70’s is the ability to relate to other veterans, to show respect for their service today.   History is full of great moments of grace and dignity, pomp and circumstance, but veteran to veteran isn’t about a parade, or acknowledgement.   Getting […]

ELLMAN SURGITRON AND DR. MOLEPDX

    What To Do If You Start Looking Like W.C. Fields? Make an appointment with Dr. MolePDX and the Ellman Surgitron.   Like most baby boomers I see new things when I look in the mirror. Some things are better than others.   One in particular was troublesome.   What do you do when you […]

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boomer years

ANGRY AMERICA? BBC SAYS YES

The BBC knows why you live in angry America. And angry Oregon. Research shows an angry America. Is it true? Yes, according to BBC research that includes all the big names in poll sampling. A CNN/ORC poll. Be angry the results are posted on a twenty nine page pdf file for clickability. NBC/Wall Street Journal […]

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 […]

BOOMER BUCKET LIST: SNOW MACHINE

Be Careful Or You Might Ride Your Boomer Bucket List Right Into A Bucket. Have you made your bucket list, the things you want to do and see before you kick the bucket? If not, you’ve got time. What’s the difference between a normal bucket list and a boomer bucket list? Call it age. Call […]

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buckle up

LEARNING FROM WHERE YOU LIVE, PT2: BABY BOOMER ERA

  The baby boomer era state of mind.   What is there to learn from the baby boomer era? Every passing year the nostalgia grows stronger, but that doesn’t change history. Consider the boomer time line from 1946-1964. The oldest boomers were twenty year olds in 1966. The youngest were twenty in 1984. My cohort […]

HISTORIC MICHIE TAVERN IN VIRGINIA FOR LUNCH HISTORY

Did Thomas Jefferson have a favorite tavern? If he did, and he was a good neighbor, it would have been the Michie Tavern. Not far from his home, Monticello, Michie Tavern was right there at the bottom of the hill. Except it was moved from miles away, which doesn’t mean it wasn’t a favorite watering […]

INVITATION FROM PORTLAND: WHAT’S MY NAME?

An old Russian saying explains it this way: The much loved are called by many names. With that in mind, Portland must be much loved by the number of names it has. Stump Town. Soccer City, USA. River City. Rip City. Rose City. Beervana. Bridge City. And they all fit. Just like weather that changes […]

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