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BEING USEFUL LIKE ROBERT FULGHUM

June 23, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

This isn’t Robert Fulghum, it’s me being useful in my Robert Fulghum beard which has gone the way of every beard that dared show itself on my face. He is probably a better beard steward than me. My enthusiasm for grooming an extra pet in the house lasts about six months. The last dog lived […]

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A SECOND LOOK AT “THAT AIN’T RIGHT”

June 22, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

What’s a second look at this garage arrangement tell you? What’s missing: a fitness area with a treadmill, squat rack, work bench, maybe a couple of cars stacked on a lift, and a designated music area with guitars, drums, and amps all ready to go. Not to say this garage is lacking anything, but it […]

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HISTORICAL FATHER’S DAYS 2026

June 21, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Historical Father’s Days in the olde country where I watched my children roam like Vikings conquering a new land. Corfe Castle fell to my marauders. The locals didn’t like our style of exploration. The walkway through the ruins led to more investigation off the path. “How would you like it if we went to your […]

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FARMING DISASTER DONE ON PURPOSE

June 20, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

So much of the awful results of the farming disaster in the old Soviet Union came from bad policy decisions. In the early 1930’s their main guy Stalin decided he knew more about science and farming than anyone. He also had advisers explaining it to him in a way he agreed with. Who doesn’t love […]

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CLEAN LIVING FOR A QUIET LIFE

June 13, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

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 […]

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END PRODUCT IS WHAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT, NOT PRACTICE

June 7, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

‘End Product’ is another way of saying, “What have you done lately?” We pay to go to concerts, games, and races. We don’t pay to go to practice rooms, weight rooms, or interval track training, the stuff done before the end product. Buy a ticket for an event and you expect a competent performance? Sounds […]

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RETIREMENT WARNINGS FOR BOOMERS IN THE FAST LANE

June 3, 2026 by David Gillaspie

You’re in the fast lane and know it when you pull up on a Waymo car. Waymo has named the Rose City as one of the next locations welcoming its own fleet of self-driving vehicles. As part of the announcement, the company revealed it will start manually operating the cars on Tuesday to “help […]

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WRITING TOOLS: THE SHORT LIST

May 15, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Writing tools were easy in the beginning. Either write something worth reading. Or, do something worth writing about. Is there more? There’s always more.

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BASHING CIVIL DISCOURSE TO NEW HEIGHTS

May 13, 2026 by David Gillaspie

How often do you catch yourself in civil discourse and regret what you’ve said? It usually goes something like, ‘this would have been better if I had just stayed on topic.’ That’s the polite self-talk. The other? Not so polite.

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RECLAIMING MY TIME ON SOUTHERN OREGON COLLEGE SIXTY-FIVE YEARS LATER

April 30, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Southern Oregon College Graduating Class of 1960: My dad. He transferred after two years at Central Oregon Community College in Bend. It was a well used path to the first college degree in his family. He was thirty years old, an old 30. Back then thirty was older, fifty was a grandparent. Hit sixty and […]

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