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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

THERAPEUTIC SWEARING, MEDICAL MARIJUANA, CANCER

      Swearing, done in the right spirit, communicates so much more than long, drawn out, explanations. Besides, how often do you need the long version? I’ve investigated both swearing and medical marijuana and come to a few helpful conclusions for cancer patients. Instead of getting all macho and shocker, I’ve amended my profanity […]

Portland Boomer Thinks About Losing Weight?

Not For Long Let’s agree that you are thoughtful and considerate, that you know how to do the right thing and make an effort to do just that. So far so good? In addition, since you are a Portland baby boomer, a boomer living somewhere else, or just know boomers, you’ve had time to consider the […]

EXPERIENCE: HOW TO TELL ONE THING FROM ANOTHER

      1. Visual: one is different than the rest.   2. Material: one is man made.   3. Use: one is decorative.   4. Location: chickens are world wide.

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boomer years

7 WAYS TO ANSWER “HOW DO PEOPLE LIVE LIKE THIS?”

The question asked by everyone who sees your place just before a major clean up. You’ll never hear anyone ask, “How do people live like this?” They say it in the car on the way home, or on the phone with their friends. You get caught by surprise just before laundry day, yard day, or […]

LAST BABY

When you’ve got the last baby of your baby boomer cohort. Do kids wear parents out? Look at your parents for that answer, but what about parents your own age when you have kids? They’ve already seen it all, done it all, got all the t-shirts. Now you’ve got the last baby. You wake up […]

Willie Nelson Brings More To Portland Than His Band

The old guitar picker takes the stage tonight at McMenamins Edgefield. Willie Nelson, all eighty five years of himself, takes the stage after opener Allison Krause.   More important, he’s on the cover of AARP magazine. Why is that important? How many public figures don’t want to talk about age? In a youth motivated culture, […]

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buckle up

BOOMERPDX ON THE ROAD TRAVEL ADVICE

How To Find Places To Stay On The Road. If two people travel together, one is planner. They’ve got the calendar, the days, the stops, and how long you’ll be in each place. Two planners are a problem. With two planners it won’t be a trip, it’ll be a hostage negotiation where one or both […]

LADY DAY PLAYS BOOMERPDX BAR AND GRILL

“Most men won’t go to live theater with their wives,” was an observation my wife shared. We were walking out of Portland Center Stage at the Armory on NW 11th by Powell’s Tuesday night when she said it. I was revved up after seeing LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL. “Did I ever thank […]

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT DEFINES SHADOW AND LIGHT IN ARIZONA

Look to Frank Lloyd Wright when the world grows too tight. Mr. Wright didn’t plan for jet contrails to cross over his compound in Arizona, did he? If heaven makes plans, and he gets a say, it couldn’t have worked out better during an inspection tour of Taliesin West.  Why else would the white lines in […]

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