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FAVORITE WRITERS TO LOVE AND HATE

December 9, 2025 by

Favorite writers have an audience of you, and you are demanding. You know what you want and don’t want. Most of all, you don’t want to be disappointed, forced to find someone new. You don’t want someone new, and the writer doesn’t want to lose you. How does this workout? With new material.

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WHEN ALCOHOL HITS DIFFERENT(LY)

December 8, 2025 by

Alcohol hits everyone differently. Like any disruptive element, you need to find the boundaries. Saying “Let’s get a beer” to a pal who keeps going until you get a phone call from a thousand miles away should only happen once. They need to set their boundaries. But what about you?

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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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WRITER’S STORY ABOUT A WRITER

December 2, 2025 by

I read one writer’s story last night before turning out the lights. It was a short story, what’s called a short story, which are usually too long to finish before lights out. I’ve got an anthology of stories I scan until one hits and sticks. This one stuck until the end after three mis-starts.

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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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GOOD TEAMMATE? BE ONE FOR THE TEAM

November 25, 2025 by

Either you are a good teammate, you’ve been a good teammate, or get out of here. That’s me in the dark Oregon hat in back. We’re on the breach in Seaside after Hood to Coast. It felt more like a deathbed after a short illness. But I’m not complaining, didn’t complain then, don’t complain now, […]

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