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COLLEGE DANCE IN HIGH SCHOOL, 1972

A college dance had a special allure to high school kids. We were high school homers in 1972; the college was Southwestern Oregon Community College, or: SWOCC. The campus was in Coos Bay, Oregon, a city of mystery and sawdust. I’d never been to a college dance, but I was a high school junior and […]

EMPTY SEATS VANISH IN A BIGGER ROOM?

Empty seats in a big room have a story. There’s the name tag on a table, but no one in the chair. Something happened, and like a book on a shelf that’s never opened, who cares? Maybe you ought to figure it out before more seats turn up empty. (The ‘you’ includes me, but mostly […]

ALONE AGAIN, NATURALLY OR UNNATURALLY

If you find yourself alone again, don’t despair. The young people will find others and wistfully remember their alone days. The elderly treasure their memories of an active, busy, life. At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. What gets in the way? Social media?

MARRIAGE ADVICE FOR FREE, DAVE IS EXTRA

Marriage advice from the never married, or multiple married, is like writing your weight on a restroom wall. Why write your weight on a restroom wall? So, in case you fall in, they’ll know how much to take out. How much is thirty six years? No one knows.

PERSONAL ENDURANCE, THE SECRET SUPER POWER

Personal endurance for Thanksgiving, 2022? Give me more of that. At least I’m not going to the store . . . yet. And I haven’t had stuffing for breakfast . . . yet. But I still have chopping to do, chopping with a cut finger, so I’m playing hurt. In fact it hurts to write […]

THANKSGIVING GIVERS GIVE MORE THAN THEY KNOW

Thanksgiving givers showed up after I moved to Portland, Oregon in 1980. I was gone a short time to learn how people get engaged and unengaged. The lesson I learned sunk in while I trolled Brooklyn, NY. Then it was time to come back.

AMATEUR CRIME LIFE WITH PEER PRESSURE

My life in amateur crime began in 5th grade. If you were going to hang with the cool kids, you had to show you belonged. One test was shoplifting at the local Payless. It was an anchor store at Pony Village, the biggest shopping mall on the west coast between Seattle and San Francisco right […]

BEST TOMB WITH A VIEW

Even the best tomb has something in common with every other tomb: Death and remembrance. This is Napoleon’s Tomb. It’s a tomb with something for everyone. Overhead view, ground level view under the curve. It’s got it all. And family in the house. The surroundings are gorgeous. The Alexander Bridge is across the street.

LIVING LIFE TO DIE? THANKS RILKE

This is the guy living life past my bathroom window in Cannon Beach, Oregon. A man playing slide guitar in a slick suit felt like a Coen brothers break from reality. Since I like listening to slide guitar, I also saw him as an omen for good things in the future. That’s how that works. […]

GIVING ORDERS? LEARN TO TAKE ORDERS FIRST

If you’re giving orders, congratulations Kingpin. But it works better if you know how to take orders first. Taking orders is a lifestyle, giving them is a privilege. So, where’s the disconnect?