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SENIOR WRITER FOR BOOMERPDX

December 4, 2025 by

Senior writer is an inside joke, senior moment not so much. That’s the moment you do something and get asked, “Why did you do that?” And you don’t have an answer. Or the answer you give doesn’t make sense. Even to you. That’s when you make up a whole universe to cover your slip, or […]

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VINTAGE LEADERSHIP FROM MID-CENTURY MODERN LEADERS

December 3, 2025 by

Today would be a good day for vintage leadership from the 50’s and 60’s. The problem is that the reading I’ve done for the post comes across as a Nixon slam. Nixon was Vice President for Eisenhower in the 1950’s when everything was calm and serene, compared to the 1940’s. He was working during the […]

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SIGNALING, MESSAGING, OR JUST WRITE

December 1, 2025 by

“Why don’t you just write?” Instead of ‘signaling,’ write it down. Written words are part of ‘messaging.’ Instead of making readers wonder what you’re trying to mean, just write and they’ll figure it out. But you must write to the standards that have come before you. For example:

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THE HEART OF PORTLAND

November 29, 2025 by

Repost from 2012 Urban life grows more imposing the closer you get to Burnside. The pretty lights you see from I-5, the beautiful reflection off the Willamette, disappear once you park your car. Trade wheels on the road for shoes on the sidewalk and the pace slows enough for a good look around. You still […]

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YOU GOT BENCHED. THEN WHAT?

November 28, 2025 by

Your favorite fading sports star got benched. It happens sooner or later. They couldn’t play up to standards anymore. It’s worse when it happens to a promising star with everything in front of them. The pressure got to them, they got hurt, and lost their way. It happens to everyone eventually. We all get benched. […]

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MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE

November 26, 2025 by

My participation in the civic life of my country is pretty minimal. I do my part. That’s me and Abe doing our part together. He does his oversight from his seat, me from mine. Only one of us writes about it.

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ONE NURSE STORY

November 23, 2025 by

If there’s a typical nurse story, it sounds like this: “I like to help people, and I don’t get grossed out.” A typical nursing patient has a similar story: “I need help, and I am grossed out.” Why are we grossed out about our bodies? I’ll start:

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LIFE LESSONS START EARLY FOR OLD MEN

November 19, 2025 by

As a middle child myself for fourteen years, life lessons were important. We learned early to share with smaller kids, and not whine too much when older kids didn’t. Was there a learning curve? There’s always a learning curve when learning is involved. It’s not for everyone, to say the least, but . . .

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BLOG WORTHY vs NOT BLOG WORTHY? THE THIN BOOMERPDX LINE

November 15, 2025 by

I asked my kid the ‘blog worthy’ question this week. He had a slew of law enforcement gathered across the street from him. Me: Is it blog worthy? Kid: If it’s interesting. The kid obviously doesn’t read boomerpdx. When has interesting mattered? We talking about interesting, or interesting to me?

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HOW TO STAY SHARP

November 14, 2025 by

You stay sharp by asking questions, by hanging around people working on answers. But you know that. I know you know based on analytics, which says we can’t all be morons. Statistically speaking, of course. Take smoking cigarettes for example.

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