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PICK A SIDE AND STAY THERE, OR NOT

What’s the problem when you pick a side? You’re stuck. You talked the talk, walked the walk, then something changed. But you’re stuck. Either stay on the bus as it goes off the bridge, or hit your eject button.

DAVIDPDX @ boomerpdx, A REGAL OREGON BLOG REVIEW

When I look for an Oregon blog I google ‘oregon blogs.’ Does that sound right to you? Good, it should. What isn’t right is the first listing, an unfriendly welcome to sign in and ‘keep up with the topics, feeds, and trends that matter to you.’ In a search for ‘oregon blogs’ the topic is […]

SPORT HEROES FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME

Sport heroes take root from the year you were born. The key is catching up once you learn how to read. Being born in the mid-50’s was a stroke of luck. The Yankees were in the World Series eight out of ten years, winning six. They had Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford, but I was […]

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN, ONLINE VERSION. CHEERS

Communication breakdown happens when online behemoths find themselves on the wrong side of a tech case. Tech case? What else do you call instagram and YouTube but marvels of modern technology? One way or another the two of them navigated through competition and mergers and acquisitions so some kid can take an endless scroll to […]

CALDWELL COUNTY BBQ? HOLY COW

This is Jimmy in the Caldwell County BBQ pit in Gilbert, Arizona. I was waiting for the occupied Men’s Room when we struck up a chat that was more historical than most history classes. He’s been running the show for a few years with the huge smokers, about five of them going full blast. On […]

MADE IN FOR THE WIN

Made In cookware made it to my house in a roundabout way. When I called customer service there was nothing roundabout about it. I was left wishing every exchange could be so welcoming. Here’s how it went:

RETIREMENT TIME OPENS DOOR FOR THINGS AND STUFF

Everyone’s’ retirement time is unique, no one matches any other. For some it’s a big party at work with a grand send-off, followed by more parties to celebrate that new freedom. There’s that giant card where everyone you worked over the decades signs with the glee of a high school year book. Or maybe you […]

BUSY LIFE IN THE FAST LANE, PASSING LANE, OR . . .

A busy life means making a difference to someone, to something, to somewhere. Take your pick. Pick more than one. What you can’t pick is anyone else’s priorities for their busy life. You can try, but why?

READING FICTION IN DECLINE?

Reading fiction has been in decline since the first person put a book down and said, “Not for me. Thanks.” A reader doesn’t finish every book. They don’t go into a library with the goal of reading everything. Maybe read everything one author ever wrote, but not everything from everyone. Which brings up one question:

END OF THE LINE . . . “ARE WE THERE YET”

It’s one thing to see the end of line, a whole other to drive past the start in Newport, Oregon. If I have a full tank of gas I hit empty after 460 miles. Eight tanks later, give or take, I’d be in Boston. Might take a week of 500 mile freeway days, or two […]