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EMPTY HANDS IN THE GETTY

The empty hands in the Getty Museum, or Getty Center, caught my eye more than the hands with cigarettes. Can’t you see a coffin nail, maybe a Phillip Morris Commander, in this guy’s hand, tipping ashes into the skull? The artist sees the whole picture and paints it; visitors see modern interpretations. I see a […]

LONELY PEOPLE: FROM HEMINGWAY TO AMERICA

The answer: lonely people. The question: What does the band America have in common with Ernest Hemingway? Their bond comes from both ends of male adulthood, young man to old man. One sang about them, the other wrote about them. By now baby boomers are both.

STRONG PEOPLE: STAY STRONG

Do you come from strong people? Baby boomers can answer with a yes easier than others. Who’s going to correct them? Respect your elders, even if you know they might be confused. Besides, who’s to judge what strong means? I will.

ONE TRICK PONY, MAYBE TWO

I rode this horse three times a week, sometimes more, for two months. Her name was Fancy and she let me know how important horses are. A retired Air Force sergeant owned Fancy and Roxy and he rented them on one condition: You had to ride them the way he wanted you to ride. It […]

A CURATED LIFE OF MUSEUM QUALITY

Who wouldn’t want a curated life? Curated: carefully chosen and thoughtfully organized or presented We’d get to skip all of the confusion and misunderstandings and go right to the good stuff. Sounds good to me, except for a small part. You know that small part?

BELIEF TO DISBELIEF, AND BACK

Belief to disbelief in anything you see, touch, or feel, is a short trip. First you hear something you like and it’s all, “Hell yeah, brudder.” But real life happens, as it does, and what you’ve heard comes to fruition. It’s not what you expect? Your inner-immature critic says, ‘F-that. No one asked for that.’ […]

THE OTHER PORTLAND, NOT THAT ONE

The other Portland is not an event, a gathering, or a cause. It could have been anywhere, but Portland just so happens to be where I started my career, met my wife, had kids. It is where my kids got married. I’ve had the city on my mind all my life, from driving past as […]

BIG OREGON QUESTIONS, ONE ANSWER

Oregon questions don’t come one at a time. Like the mountain that blew all over our northern neighbor, things tend to percolate. When they do go, they go big. Whether it’s heartfelt outrage over farmland sold off for developers to rape and pillage with grocery stores, restaurants, and super efficient mixed-use housing, or the joy […]

RESTFUL SLEEP FOR BETTER DAYS

For those who wonder about the benefit of restful sleep, stay up a little longer and keep reading. If you’re not on schedule for a solid eight hours of sleep, with power naps mixed in, keep reading. There is something keeping you up, something you can’t put your finger on, or step on, but what? […]