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OLD PORTLAND, NEW PORTLAND, TODAY PORTLAND WITH MARK ROTHKO

July 23, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

This is a scene of old Portland, a painting by Mark Rothko, hanging in new Portland. A single bridge, a barren Eastside, a cloudy sky. Yep, looks like Portland. Here’s how I know:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, civic negligence, Don Schollander, education, famous Oregonians, mark rothko, millennials, Oregon, Oregon Encyclopedia, oregon historial society, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, Portlandia, Rick Sanders, story, travel, writer, writers, writing

NOT LOST, BUT STILL A HISTORY OF LOSING

July 7, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

You are not lost if you still have enough gas in the tank and sunlight in the sky to keep going. But, not everyone agrees. I chalk it up to those who’ve experienced enough losing to know the symptoms. They’ve seen losers, been losers, and know what they’re talking about when they call you a […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: attention, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, Death, education, facebook, family, fitness, history, interests, kids, learning, lost, Love, not lost, personal history, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, real life, Social media, wife, writer, writers, writing

BEING USEFUL LIKE ROBERT FULGHUM

June 23, 2026 by David Gillaspie

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 […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, banality, be useful, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, continuity, education, family, keep writing, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, rational answer, repetition, Robert fulghum, Social media, story, tedium, travel, useful, well known, worth knowing, writer, writers, writing

A SECOND LOOK AT “THAT AIN’T RIGHT”

June 22, 2026 by David Gillaspie

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 […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: accidental hoarder, aspirational goal, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blog, blogger, BOOMER, boomer blogger, boomer please, boomerpdx, clutter, education, family, generational clutter, goal, mt hood, mt.st.helens, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, portland mountain, second look, story, writer, writers, writing

HISTORICAL FATHER’S DAYS 2026

June 21, 2026 by David Gillaspie

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 […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, college, college graduation, corfe castle, father, father's day, graduation, happy father's day, hay tor, HISTORICAL FATHER'S DAYS, history, kids, Love, MARRIAGE, married, North Bend, wife, writer, writers, writing

FARMING DISASTER DONE ON PURPOSE

June 20, 2026 by David Gillaspie

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 […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, be your best, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, dandies, education, farm, farmers, farming disaster, fitness, food, Great Depression, health, hope, Lysenko, planted hope, public health, RFK Jr, Social media, stalin, starvation, story, urban environments, USSR, wheat, wheat crops

CLEAN LIVING FOR A QUIET LIFE

June 13, 2026 by David Gillaspie

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 […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, clean living, education, family, fear, learning, life experience, life story, MARRIAGE, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, quiet life, wife, writer, writers, writing

END PRODUCT IS WHAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT, NOT PRACTICE

June 7, 2026 by David Gillaspie

‘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 […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, basketball court, being smart, being strong, better, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, Coos Bay, education, end, end product, keep practicing, marshfield high school, musical instruments, Oregon, organized noise, people care, practice, practicing, product, story, wife, writer, writers, writing

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 […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: acid dropping freaks, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blog, blogger, boomerpdx, cars, classic cars, fast lane, hippies, hobbies, life, MARRIAGE, married, mobility, Oldsmobile, Oregon, retire, retirement hobbies, retirement warnings, retirement window, retiring, the future, travel, Waymo, wife, writer, writers, writing

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.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, belief, believe, believer, blog, blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, confidence, family, paint, PAINTER, paris, Picasso, time well spent, wife, writer, writer's confidence, writers, writing, writing habit, writing tools