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CALDWELL COUNTY BBQ? HOLY COW

April 3, 2026 by Leave a Comment

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 […]

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MADE IN FOR THE WIN

April 1, 2026 by Leave a Comment

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:

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RETIREMENT TIME OPENS DOOR FOR THINGS AND STUFF

March 29, 2026 by Leave a Comment

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 […]

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

March 28, 2026 by Leave a Comment

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?

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READING FICTION IN DECLINE?

March 26, 2026 by Leave a Comment

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:

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

March 18, 2026 by

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 […]

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COLD WET OREGON WITH EXTRA WATER

March 14, 2026 by

On a cold wet Oregon day the beach was covered as far as the eye could see, and since it’s flat you can see a long way. Jelly fish, man of war, or whatever it was, it was a mass die-off of squishy critters up and down the beach, a purple carpet of goo to […]

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BIG TIME FOR BIG CITY PORTLAND, AND OREGON

March 11, 2026 by

Big city Portland gets the name for being the biggest city in the state. How big?  The next biggie, Eugene, is three times smaller, rounded up and down for 600k people in one, 200k in the other. (K = 1000)

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NORTH BEND IN THE OREGON HISTORY CENTER

March 10, 2026 by

This is North Bend in 1940. Something is missing, though. I-5 is missing, but there’s something else. These baby boomers and their memory, you never know what you’re getting.

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WHAT IS A PHILOSOPHICO DIARY

March 7, 2026 by

A philosophico diary is where the writer writes what comes to them, like boomerpdx. What comes to me are examples, evidence, of the past coming forward. Today is reflected in the past. How does that work? Everything worth doing has been done, just not by you. Or me. Take last night for example.

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