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CHILDREN LEARN BY EXAMPLE SO TEACH THEM WELL

Children learn by looking to their elders for clues. Elders don’t always remember the clues when they’re too busy feeling forgotten.  But, there are reminders.   You, who are on the roadMust have a code you try to live byAnd so become yourselfBecause the past is just a goodbye

THE OTHER PORTLAND OREGON

The other Portland once had a reputation as a place for rich hippies to retire young and send their kids to Reed College. If that was the 70’s those kids might be fifty or sixty years old; thirty or forty if they started a family late, or decided to have more than one family. Since […]

TRY ME? EVERY FATHER’S HOPE

“I’ve got three boys,” a former football star said. “I’ve got to stay in shape because they’re going to try me.” Try me? Do we all know what that means? Probably not if you didn’t try your Dad. But you did. Right? You did? How did that work out for you? How does it ever […]

LONG BEACH FROM PORT TO FLEA MARKET

The Long Beach Flea Market, or Antique Market, occupies twenty acres of Long Beach City College once a month. It’s a full house of everything you’d ever want to see, just maybe not all in your house. The exciting part, like shopping any flea market, is the big score. If it’s not something you’ve been […]

MATERIAL WORLD, AND WHAT TO DO WITH IT

Mashing two words together to make ‘material world’ brings up a long list of ongoing problems, some more distressing than others. Scientific American shares this story from 2020:   Human-Made Stuff Now Outweighs All Life on Earth Artificial objects have gone from just 3 percent of the world’s biomass in 1900 to on par with […]

MARRIED WEED COUPLE LOSING GRIP

What happens when a weed couple changes their stance? When one of them decides to light up and the other doesn’t? If they are baby boomers, you’d expect them to do something baby boomer-ish, like write a letter to Dear Abby? No way. They’d sit down, after fifty years of marriage, and figure it out. […]

HOW TO SURPRISE YOURSELF

How often do you surprise yourself? A: More often? B: Less often? This isn’t a survey or a poll so relax. However . . .

GOOD FORTUNE: ACCIDENTAL OR PLANNED

My happy good fortune could never be planned any more than a shark chooses their favorite remora. It’s all been a long string of happy coincidence. Just another fat baby boomer taking up space in comfort and luxury. That’s me. How about you, same thing? Probably not, but check with younger people to know for […]

WRITTEN RULES TO FOLLOW

Written rules started early for baby boomers. “Do this, not that, and do it better than you did last time. I’ll write it down so you don’t forget.” From yard work to school work, to spending time with friends, there were rules. Ignore the rules and you might be the kid standing in the corner […]

DRAWING A LINE IN WATER

Drawing a line in the sand is different than drawing a line in the dirt. Sand is related to the beach, dirt is everywhere. One line lasts until the next tide, the other until the next rain. As you can see both are affected by water. But why draw a line in the first place?