downtown Portland Archives • DAVIDPDX

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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

THE PORTLAND DIFFERENCE: URBAN FEAR

June 19, 2025 by David Gillaspie

The Portland difference means telling yourself one urban space is different than another. How can anyone make such a judgement? There’s only one way: wander around urban spaces both new and old. From London to Paris, more like Paris to London; from Philadelphia to New York City, which most people think is only Manhattan without […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, downtown Portland, fear, Love, millennials, modest blogger, Oregon, Portland, portland blogger, Portland Oregon, travel, urban, urban center, urban fear, wife

MAKING TIME LAST WITH OVER DAVE

May 6, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Making time for someone is one of the nicest things you can do. You hear about it from people who say they’d like more time with one particular person. Except that person is usually dead. Then what? Plan B.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Coos Bay World, downtown, downtown Portland, engagement, forgotten, freedom of speech, libraries, library, making time, media person, microfiche, modern life, museums, newspaper, newspaper column, opinions, Oregonian, outspokenness, over Dave, over David, overtime, Portland, research, scrolling, skimming, sniveling, thoughtfulness, time, traffic, whining

CURRENT DISAPPOINTMENT, I’VE GOT A FEW

March 27, 2025 by David Gillaspie

My current disappointment, and it’s not much, are the cherry blossoms of downtown Portland. I’ve been on others to get down there before they drop. What says spring better than a stroll along the Willamette River under a cherry blossom canopy? If I don’t go, it’ll be another year to wait. Do I go alone […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomers, birthday, BOOMER, boomerpdx, cherry blossom, cherry blossoms, current, disappointment, downtown Portland, education, family, giver, giving, history, KATU, laundry, Love, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, twitter, wife, Willamette River, writer, writing

PERMANENT BUILDINGS FOR THE FUTURE

February 8, 2025 by David Gillaspie

I look for permanent buildings the older I get. It’s always a treat. I’m older than the town I live in, older than the first house I owned, older than where I live mow. Maybe I’m the permanent building? Naw. Maybe you?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: blogger, boomers, buildings, downtown Portland, education, Fox Theater, fox tower, millennials, Oregon, park avenue west, permanent, permanent buildings, Portland, Portland Oregon, travel, writer, writing

PORTLAND DIRT IS JUST LIKE YOUR DIRTY TOWN

February 4, 2025 by David Gillaspie

To know Portland Oregon you better like dirt. I’m not talking about pioneering farmers, either. It started with the first native canoe stopping on the Willamette. Paddling against the current takes as much energy now as it did then, so if you’re into historical reenactment you’d better be in shape.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: downtown Portland, historical reenactment, kkk portland, Oregon, Oregon History, Portland, Portland dirt, portland history, Portland Oregon, urban excavation

MOUNT HOOD VIEW FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD

January 9, 2025 by David Gillaspie

The Mount Hood view is so good from the neighborhood that streets are named after it. That’s what you get in a town near a mountain. You could say a town near a mountain range since there’s also a view of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams to the north, Mt. Jefferson to the south […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: cascades, city dirt, digging holes, dirt, downtown Portland, historian, history, hoodvista, local historian, mount hood, mountain, mountain climber, Mt.Adams, Mt.jefferson, mt.st.helens, neighborhood, Portland, Portland people, provincial view, Rocky mountains, suburban dirt

GIVING THANKS TO CAREFUL READERS

November 2, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Giving thanks for anything is a good idea. It only gets funky when you try to work it into something else, like the opposite of thanks. Would that be irony? But a sweet thank-you is not the same as a hearty F-you. All cleared up?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: author, blog, blog network, blogger, bloggers, boomerpdx, careful readers, comments, downtown Portland, filling a need, giving, giving thanks, gratitude, hairstyle, heart of portland, message, messaging, online, pissy old man, Portland, Portland Outdoor Store, readers, reading, scam, Social media, spam, thanks, vote, voter, voting, wig spam, writer

DOWNTOWN PORTLAND OREGON ON A FAMILY SATURDAY NIGHT

June 23, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Traveling to downtown Portland for a visit, for a look-around? But you’ve seen the news, the tents, the drugs, the crime. So have I. It’s a red flag, but not this time. We took a chance to claim, or reclaim, the Rose City as our own.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: blog, blog post, blogger, boomerpdx, civic pride, crawfish, crime, David Gillaspie, downtown, downtown Portland, drugs, facebook, family, family time, food, history, jakes famous crawfish, memory, news, Oregon, Portland, Portland Oregon, portland vibe, Rose City, tents, Tigard, travel, writer, writers, writers dream

DANGEROUS PLACES #1: MATERNITY WARD

August 18, 2023 by David Gillaspie

Dangerous places are pretty obvious. Who doesn’t have a list of them. Here in Oregon, land of the great outdoors, we have plenty of danger. But, instead of a list picturing the grandeur and beauty of this great state, then spoiling if by saying climate change makes it all dangerous, let’s work a little harder.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: addict, addiction, baby, blog post, blogger, boomerpdx, climate change, dangerous places, Death, downtown Portland, drug addict, drugs, family, family trauma, healthcare, labor and delivery, maternity ward, medicine, meth, nurse, Portland, Portland Oregon, portland writer, Portlandia, shooting, trauma, writer