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ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE

Part of the job in writing a blog like boomerpdx is reading The New Yorker. That’s where I found The Fifties by Monica Ferrell. She’s got a website loaded up with the works. The works?

TIME MACHINE, OR ’66 CORVETTE

The usual time machine in movies is a box you walk into in one era and walk out of in another. It’s some kind of portal used to go back and fix something. Things go wrong when the fix starts a domino effect that changes everything else, so you have to go back for a […]

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.

OREGON MAP: BEHIND THE SCENES

An Oregon map on a wall? Who doesn’t have one of those? But when they show up unexpectedly it’s a happy reminder. You see things and wonder, ‘What’s that look like from the air?

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.

GOOD BOSS, BAD BOSS

A good boss isn’t born that way. They learn the ropes after working for a boss who shows them the right way. And the wrong way. Then they choose one or the other. What’s the difference?

TAX DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HERE AND THERE

The tax difference between sitting in my garage and getting lost in Arizona is pretty big. I’ll explain. I just got a property tax statement, maybe you did too? The list of where the money goes is impressive. Compared to what?

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 […]