culture Archives • DAVIDPDX

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BEING DOG WALKED? HOW TO KNOW

January 23, 2026 by David Gillaspie

What’s it mean to be dog walked? “Time to get the leash. The slang dog walk is “to overpower” or “outsmart” someone, as if in utter control of them, as when walking a dog.” When does it happen? There are clues, such as:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: activist, America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, common culture, culture, culture leader, dog, dog walked, dog walking, education, leadership, leadership responsibilities, learning, Love, Portland Oregon, responsibilities, right and wrong, roll over, stand guard, story, writer, writers, writing, WWII

GOOD TEAMMATE? BE ONE FOR THE TEAM

November 25, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Either you are a good teammate, you’ve been a good teammate, or get out of here. That’s me in the dark Oregon hat in back. We’re on the breach in Seaside after Hood to Coast. It felt more like a deathbed after a short illness. But I’m not complaining, didn’t complain then, don’t complain now, […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, connections, culture, education, family, fitness, good teammate, history, millennials, North Bend, Oregon, outgoing, relationships, reserved, school, socially shy, story, team, teammate, travel, work, writer, writers, writing

LEADER PREPARATION TRAINING PROGRAM 2025

November 17, 2025 by David Gillaspie

This is my claim to leader preparation, not leader, but ready to lead. I lean on the Fort Ord Leadership Academy when I need to tighten things up. I’d like to thank the academy for the training? Thank you, but during the supposed twenty-one hours of training we were all so sleep-deprived we could barely […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: adversity, art, Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, craftsman, culture, education, great men, history, history teacher, leader, leader preparation, leader preparation program, leadership, leadership academy, learning, Love, MARRIAGE, millennials, North Bend, Oregon, Portland Oregon, preparation, program, story, teacher, teaching, travel, work, writer, writing

COMMUNITY STORYTELLING: U.S. ARMY 1974-1976

September 30, 2025 by David Gillaspie

The definition of community for Community Storytelling from Oregon Humanities: When we say “community,” we mean any group of people who share a common experience thanks to where they live, the language they speak, their race, their religion, their age, or some other attribute. When we say “storytelling,” we mean nonfiction stories conveyed through […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: admirals, Army, Authority, baby boomer, blogger, boomerpdx, chain of command, community, community storytelling, cultural, culture, education, family, generals, history, leadership, millennials, Oregon, Portland, Portland Oregon, revival, soldiers, story, storytelling, travel, veteran, vietnam era, Vietnam War, Vietnam-Era Veteran, writer

THE UNITED FEELING FROM HERE

September 10, 2025 by David Gillaspie

I get that united feeling when I think about how much we all have in common. It’s a growing feeling, but still elusive when differences are strong. Fortunately, being different is a good thing, not a shame thing. We have that in common. But, still . . .

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Army, best friends, big accomplishment, black hat, blog traffic, blogger, china, Chinese, Chinese readers, college, common ground, cultural exchange, culture, disappointments, education, higher education, historical authority, military draft, new readers, nw history, old friends, personal blogger, readers, relatives, senior citizens, SEO, u.s. history, united feeling

THE ART AND CRAFT OF DODGING RESPONSIBILITIES

August 29, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Dodging responsibilities for a picture is not what my pal Bill Shonley and I do. He’s met a ton of people so getting a shot was no big deal. To him; it was a big deal to me. It’s one of my favorites. We’re both Blazers fans, though I’ve cooled off since Big Red took […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomers, bike, bike helmet, bike ride, bill shonley, BLAZERS, blogger, culture, dodging responsibilities, downtown, downtown Portland, enterprising blogger, helmet, keep riding, local culture, looking good, new bike, Portland, Roy Pittman, senior moment, sounding good, sports highlights, Steel Bridge, story, tilikum crossing, TOM McCALL WATERFRONT PARK, trail bike, warming up, wife, wife warning

BLOG FRIENDS WORLD WIDE GETTING A GRIP

August 19, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Blog friends come from the four corners of earth, which if my compass is correct, includes North, East, South, and West. Everyone from anywhere can come in with a good internet connection. Shout out to South Africa, Poland, Malaysia, China, Canada, Philippines, and Australia. To India, England, France, and Spain. To North America, South America, […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: arranged marriage, blog, blog friends, blog subscriber, BOOMER, boomer generation, boomer parents, Conditions, culture, customs, Facebook friends, forced marriage, friends, GETTING A GRIP, improved, Internet, internet connection, learn, learning, led astray, MARRIAGE, marriage of convenience, millennial, Millennial generation, nervous, new blog, problems, read blogs, readers, self absorbed, subscriber, thin skinned, twitter friends

A CERTAIN AGE, THEN POOF. THAT’S IT?

August 9, 2025 by David Gillaspie

“As a culture, we tend to let people disappear at a certain age,” said Dustin Hoffman. What’s that feeling you get when you hear someone start with, “As a culture . . . ?” They’re talking about something you ought to know, or it’s something you don’t know and feel suspicious about. I side with […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: american life, as a culture, athlete, athletes, beauty and mystery, blog, bright lights, career, celebrities, culture, disappear, drama, fitness, fitness fan, kingpin, left alone, left out, new culture, people disappear, politicians, politics, public life, red carpet, sports, suspicious, tired, write, write a blog

HOW TO SURPRISE YOURSELF

July 18, 2025 by David Gillaspie

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

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomers, beauty, boomers, bulldog beauties, community, Coos Bay, coos bay beauties, coos river beauties, culture, dignity, experience, familiarity, golden ticket, grace, hometown, how to, Joel Mansfield, manners, married, material culture, need, small town, surprise, surprise yourself

CHALLENGING TIMES CHANGE CULTURE

July 17, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Challenging times start early every day. Fortunately the Beatles prepared us. Here Comes The Sun. After that comes the morning plan:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: beer, beers, boomerpdx, challenging times, change culture, changes, changes culture, changing culture, cheap food, craft beer, culture, doubt, dream, echo chamber, excuse yourself, fear, gourmet burgers, hype man, modern times, polite, Rasputin, soft pud, the Beatles, uncertainty