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BOOMERPDX INTERVIEW: ONE VETERAN, ONE STUDENT, ONE PARENT

September 10, 2020 by

A faux-BoomerPDX interview works to paint a citizenship picture, a mosaic, by covering nervous subjects. For this edition it’s a veteran, a student, and a parent doing the work. And they have plenty to say. Take a read:

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EQUALITY EXPLAINED, OR “SO YOU THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN ME, DO YA?”

September 7, 2020 by

Is equality ever explained in a rational way without some tag along. It’s “equality, but,” or, “equality when,” or some such qualifier, like only a conjunction conveys the ‘real truth.’ The problem is that equality explained with a qualifier is never equal. See, equality doesn’t need qualifiers, which is a reason to fight. But why […]

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DAD DEGREES LIKE COLLEGE DEGREE, BUT GRADED BY WIFE

July 8, 2020 by

Dad degrees? If you’re never heard of one, it’s because they don’t exist. Or do they? Don’t we grade parents like we do anything else? Start with the parents from childhood, your childhood, not your kid’s. I’ll go first.

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HOW TO DO SOCIAL REFORM SO IT WORKS

June 19, 2020 by

Social reform in the good old days hardly came up in conversations. Where I come from you could graduate from high school one day, go to work in the mill the next, and retire after a few decades of picking slivers. Or, go to college and learn how to tie a tie and rake in […]

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AUTHORITY MAN: KNOW THEM WHEN YOU SEE THEM, HEAR THEM

April 9, 2020 by

Authority man comes in all different shapes and sizes, but the flavor never changes. Even when they favor you and I, empathy leaves a slightly bitter taste. We cheer when authority man rules our way, but forget that we’re one misstep from being ruled against. Then what happens?

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GREEN CHAIN DANCER TELLS SISTER STORY

March 18, 2020 by

The green chain in the local plywood mill called for me after freshman year in college. I had a college loan and the job was the best for paying it off and putting money away for sophomore year. I was the new guy on the swing shift crew in 1974 with men who enjoyed a […]

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SHORTHAND FOR OK BOOMER? OK, B

December 6, 2019 by

Can we finally stop the OK Boomer fun? What’s it been, a week, a month, ten years, since it first came out? Let’s clean it up a little, maybe cut a syllable to a simple “Ok, B.” Baby boomers don’t want to tax the time others take to say something as clever as “Ok, boomer.” […]

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OK BOOMER: THE SIXTIES FINALLY EXPLAINED

November 4, 2019 by

When did the 60’s begin in Portland? Don’t bother looking at a calendar for an answer. You won’t find a starting date. Younger people who aren’t so young any more see the 60’s as a boomer blast. It was the one party they missed, a special time for spoiled children to throw themselves a party […]

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HOW TO ‘GROW UP AND GET OVER IT’

August 7, 2019 by

There are people and places that will hurt your feelings. Since my feelings have been hurt and I learned to grow up and get over it, I will share how that works. Learning to grow up isn’t something that comes and goes, not when new challenges require new ways to grow. I thought people a […]

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PERSONAL IDENTITY BASED ON SOCIAL MEDIA POST

July 19, 2019 by

Meeting new people who roll out their personal identity is a thrill when it works out. I’ve learned so much by listening. (No matter what people who know me say, I do listen, just not to them.) An American family tradition, maybe your family tradition, is being kind to strangers, of giving others the benefit […]

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