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FIXING STUPID STARTS EARLY, BUT NOT TOO EARLY

January 29, 2022 by

After your first breath you begin fixing stupid. If you’re lucky, you’re born into a family who wants you. That makes the job so much easier. And if you’re really lucky, you’re born with a run of good health ahead of you. You’re ready to start fixing stupid, but you need a little help getting […]

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PRACTICING TOLERANCE FOR A TEST YOU DON’T WANT TO FAIL

January 26, 2022 by

The idea of practicing tolerance isn’t the same as ignoring the important stuff. Tolerance: the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with. With that definition, you know you’ll need practice. But does tolerance have to be an extreme hardship? It depends […]

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HUMAN BONDING BENT BUT NOT BROKEN

January 25, 2022 by

If you over-analyze how life on earth works it comes down to one thing: human bonding. Call it trust, call it faith, because those are the ingredients. As humans we are bound by trust and faith in the recipe for human bonding. Take your car for instance:

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BRIDGE CITY BRIDGES, PICK ONE AND CROSS IT FOR GOOD LUCK

January 16, 2022 by

Bridge city is that place, that town, any bump in the road that needs a bridge. Walking on or driving over any bridge is an act of faith. But we do it without a blink. After all, that’s how we cross a river, a bay. That’s how we get to the other side. With luck […]

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RESPECTING DECISIONS IS HARD, BUT WHY BE A PUNK ABOUT IT

January 15, 2022 by

Respecting decisions is part of the hard learning process. It starts early. Parents decide to put little Jimmy in an accelerated learning school and he learns to doubt their decisions sooner than later. But he still shows up for school everyday. Why? Because even little Jimmy knows that respecting decisions made for him by people […]

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BEER WRITING IS ABOUT DESTINATION BEER? NOT ALWAYS

January 14, 2022 by

Beer writing is about the new, the bold, the best beers on the market. It’s citrus beer, fresh hop beer, hazy and low-cal beer. From first beer to last beer, destination beer is still king. Go out for a new beer and you’ll get more than you bargained for if your destination is Kalama, Washington […]

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PORTLAND WRITING: WHAT TO SAY AFTER IT’S ALL BEEN SAID

January 13, 2022 by

Portland writing classes made it seem like everyone in town was a writer. Publish a book and that’s good enough to fill a teacher’s role? Yes it is. Word of mouth got around, a friend offers space, and people pay to show up and listen. And learn. But what do you learn?

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CLIMATE WRITING: IS IT HOT IN HERE OR JUST ME?

January 10, 2022 by

Climate writing, climate change writing, global warming writing, are all stories to tell. The problem is those telling aren’t doing a very good job. Could I do better? Me? Hell, no. But maybe you could. Maybe you could tell it so it gets under the thick skin of big decision makers? I have ideas to […]

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TRICKLE DOWN JUSTICE STARTS AT THE TOP

January 5, 2022 by

Trickle down justice is different than trickle down economics where the rich get richer with tax breaks. In one the results are more visible: People get charged, tried, and sentenced if guilty. We’re not left wondering, ‘Do the 1% really give up their haul so the minimum wage workers in their companies can afford the […]

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BROKEN MAN ON 1, 2, 3

December 28, 2021 by

Hemingway said every man is a broken man, that’s how the light gets in. His inexact quote is a little different with, “We are all broken. That’s how the light gets in,” but the same idea. I’m just not as inclusive as the big guy. ‘We’ are not all broken, not yet, at least not […]

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