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BUILDING HISTORICAL HEALTH WITH AN ‘EXPERIENCE’

July 16, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

The good doctor says ‘historical health’ is important for local and national well-being. The downside: you may discover things are not as you think they are. The upside: you may discover you’re better than you think. I call it Win-Win. Why?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, education, feeling better, historical experience, historical method, historical process, historical relevance, history, history bug, learning, loneliness, Love, MARRIAGE, millennials, North Bend, oregonians, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, practical purposes, reedsport, story, the vault, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing

DON’T TALK BACK TO WHO?

July 15, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

When someone says, “Don’t talk back to me,” what’s your first impulse? Give them some back talk, or shut up. You already know what they want. What about you?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: back talk, big reveal, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, education, history, learning, life's goal, Love, MARRIAGE, millennials, old enough, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, respectful, story, talk, talk back, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing

ADULTISM: JUST DO IT?

July 14, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Adultism: making mistakes and passing the knowledge on without admitting how you learned it. “Mistakes? Not me. I just know things because I’m smarter than you.” If you haven’t said those words, you’ve heard them and thought, ‘this is what smart people say?’ And we wonder why young people don’t respect their elders any more […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: adultism, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, common sense, facebook, good news, learning, Oregon, patience, peak happiness, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, Social media, story, twitter, wife, writer, writers, writing, X

BEING USEFUL LIKE ROBERT FULGHUM

June 23, 2026 by David Gillaspie

This isn’t Robert Fulghum, it’s me being useful in my Robert Fulghum beard which has gone the way of every beard that dared show itself on my face. He is probably a better beard steward than me. My enthusiasm for grooming an extra pet in the house lasts about six months. The last dog lived […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, banality, be useful, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, continuity, education, family, keep writing, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, rational answer, repetition, Robert fulghum, Social media, story, tedium, travel, useful, well known, worth knowing, writer, writers, writing

BETTER LISTENING SKILLS FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING

June 16, 2026 by David Gillaspie

If practicing better listening skills isn’t a life goal, it should be. How hard is it to pay attention? You did it in the classroom with the encouragement of a teacher. I still remember Mr. Kraus singing ‘Toot toot tootsie goodbye’ when he tossed little tootsie rolls to students with the right answer in algebra. […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, better understanding, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, brag, bragging, bro, education, good answer, grave robber, GUITAR, guitar player, history, listening, listening skills, North Bend, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, science, Social media, story, teacher, understanding, wife, writer, writers, writing

OFF THE HOOK IN GOLDEN YEARS?

June 8, 2026 by David Gillaspie

As the golden years of retirement stretch out before you there are a few things to keep in mind. Probably more than ten line items, but this is a start. You don’t have to agree with any of them, but pick and choose in any order. I’ll start:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, cooking, education, family, fitness, food, GOLDEN YEARS, history, kids, kitchen, learning, married, mental stimulation, millennials, music, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, recipe, relax, social interaction, Social media, sports, story, twitter, volunteer, wife, workout, writer, writers, writing

SENDING THE RIGHT MESSAGE TO WHO?

May 20, 2026 by David Gillaspie

I’ve heard the right message all of my life: Do this and this; don’t do that. Sometimes the right message comes from the right place. Other times?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: accountable, alone, Army, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, boomer blogger, boomers, committed citizens, community, hard part, helpless, message, Oregon, out of touch, personal pride, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, right message, self esteem, travel, vote, voter, wife, writer, writing, your dignity

REMEMBER TO VOTE: BE SOMEBODY

May 19, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Remember to vote at this late date. Late? Well, this is the last day to drop ballots at collection sites. Mine dropped yesterday. Felt pretty good.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, dolled up, education, family, learning, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, remember to vote, Social media, travel, vote, vote today, wife, writer, writers, writing, your house

WRITING TOOLS: THE SHORT LIST

May 15, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Writing tools were easy in the beginning. Either write something worth reading. Or, do something worth writing about. Is there more? There’s always more.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, belief, believe, believer, blog, blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, confidence, family, paint, PAINTER, paris, Picasso, time well spent, wife, writer, writer's confidence, writers, writing, writing habit, writing tools

BASHING CIVIL DISCOURSE TO NEW HEIGHTS

May 13, 2026 by David Gillaspie

How often do you catch yourself in civil discourse and regret what you’ve said? It usually goes something like, ‘this would have been better if I had just stayed on topic.’ That’s the polite self-talk. The other? Not so polite.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, civil discourse, facebook, journalist, muckraker, next time, ON TOPIC, polite, public figure, public life, reporter, self-talk, Social media, stupid, under educated, writer, writing, young people, youtube