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THE RUBY ANNIVERSARY LANTERN

May 12, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

What’s a ruby anniversary? We’ve all heard of the silver and golden anniversaries, but ruby? Weddings are funny things, and now so are anniversaries. You don’t want any missteps or mistakes, so in service to all matrimonial celebrations:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: anniversary, Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, flowers, Meaning, nurture, nurtured, Nurturing, purpose, red light, remember, ruby, ruby anniversary, ruby lantern, ruby the dog, treasure, wedding, wedding anniversary

CUVÉE MOTHER’S DAY WITH CHEF GILBERT HENRY AND COMPANY

May 11, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Mother’s Day grows more importance when it’s part of a masterplan. Add a road trip with a restaurant at the end and it edges toward epic. It goes without saying that any two lane drive through rural Washington and Yamhill County is enough to make you want to sell everything and move into a dilapidated […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, carlton, chef, Chef Gilbert Henry, Chef Henry, cuvée, family, food, gastronomic, gastronomic food, mother's day, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, restaurant, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing

MAY 1986, THE LAST WEDDING

May 10, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

It was a cloudy, wet, day, in May 1986 for the last wedding. Like so many raised on the Oregon coast, a cloudy, wet, day, is good luck no matter where you are. Everything was done, everything set in Sandy, from rented morning coats to a rented preacher. The preacher was a second choice.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, family, history, last wedding, Love, MARRIAGE, wedding, wedding anniversary, wedding day, wedding vows, wife, writer, writers, writing

SHARING SPECIAL DAYS, EVERY LAST ONE

May 9, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Special days have special meaning which don’t hit the same for everyone. For some it’s repeating, “Why bother,” for the fortieth time. Others like to say, “I thought we’ve moved past all that.” But you still find those looking for something special in every day, and keep looking until they find it. Hell or high […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: anniversary, Baby Boomer blogger, bliss, boomer bliss, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, dear readers, education, family, fingers crossed, gift ideas, history, learning, Love, love notes, MARRIAGE, Oregon, party, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, readers, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing, youth culture

OLD PORTLAND, YOUNG PARENTS

May 8, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Make that old Portland, youngish parents. Or not so old Portland, and not so young parents. We weren’t teenagers, but if you ever want to feel like one push a stroller around downtown. With two kids it’s like a double punishment, like sent to your room AND missing dinner. What else?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, education, family, history, kids, Love, MARRIAGE, married, old portland, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, young parents

LET THEM, LET YOU, OR LET ME?

May 7, 2026 by David Gillaspie 1 Comment

The Let Them Theory book has a lot of lets in the letters. My favorites are the parts that address my problems, which come with a writing habit from what I can tell. Will I discover why I’m not a better writer? Learn what I should have done by now, or find a lingering message […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blogger, book, boomerpdx, education, F AROUND, FAFO, find out, let them, let them theory, letters, old man, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, prolific, read, reader, reading, self help, travel, wife, write, writer, writers, writing

NORTH BEND HEROES START HERE

May 6, 2026 by David Gillaspie 1 Comment

Calling North Bend a small town is a disservice to real small towns everywhere. Driving south on 101 and crossing the North Bend Bridge takes you under this sign. If you’re not paying close attention and keep going the same direction, the entire area of the largest metro complex on the Oregon coast feels like […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, Coos Bay, davidpdx, family, high school wrestling team, history, married, memory, North Bend, North Bend Bulldogs, Oregon, Oregon Coast, remember, state champion, still alive, the future, travel, wife, working, wrestling, wrestling team, writer, writing

READING HISTORY LIKE IT MEANS SOMETHING?

May 5, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Reading history is the same as reading a story, but it comes with a bonus: You can check the validity of the history story, check the sources, visit the places history happened and is still happening. When old people check sources it’s because they have nothing else to do? Baby boomers visit historical sites not […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: accomplished writers, addiction, America, Baby Boomer blogger, blue book, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, chaucer, college classes, davidpdx, drug addict, drunk, education, energy, history, new yorker, paris, playboy, reading, reading a book, reading history, stoned, story, the Canterbury Tales, time, wife, writer, writing, WWII

DIFFERENT SOLDIERS? HOW DIFFERENT

May 2, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

The men in uniform during WWII were different soldiers, different kind of people. The Axis powers carried an extreme devotion to duty, an extreme devotion to their emperor, and an extreme devotion to cruelty over helpless victims. By the way, this isn’t new, not breaking news, but a reminder for short-memoried morons who ought to […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, different soldiers, education, extreme devotion, germany, historical, history, holocaust, illegal orders, japan, kadena air base, learning, men in uniform, moral clarity, moral superiority, ramstein air base, soldiers, surrender, travel, writer, writers, writing, WWII

BABY BOOMER CRY TOWEL

May 1, 2026 by David Gillaspie 1 Comment

Who else needs a cry towel? Everyone. Who admits it? Not everyone. The problem is not everyone had a cry towel when it counted. Like when they were a baby. You can see it in people who think of kids as just another mouth to feed. Instead of the biggest thing ever, that baby found […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby, blog blogger, boomerpdx, Children, cry towel, davidpdx, google AI, grandparent, kids, parents