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LUNAR NEW YEAR AND MORE IN PORTLAND

March 9, 2026 by David Gillaspie

My small group of five went to the Lunar New Year Parade in downtown Portland. Yes, that Portland. If you’ve heard about it and wonder, it’s not a smoldering city rocked by insurrection. But it was rocking. After living in bigger cities where most people visit and leave, including Portland, I was thrilled to see […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomers, city plan, downtown, dragon, drive, education, learning, lunar new year, museum, parking spot, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, portland china town museum, Portland Oregon, story, travel, writer, writers, writing

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

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

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

GOODBYE PORTLAND IT’S BEEN FUN

June 27, 2016 by David Gillaspie

If you leave, just say goodbye Portland. That’s all. Portland visitor’s say goodbye Portland when they leave. Maybe they’ll be back, maybe not. Saying goodbye Portland says it all. You came, you saw, you didn’t stay. If you did stay, if you decided Portland was the only place in the world for you, then you […]

Filed Under: Buckle Up Tagged With: big pink, BLAZERS, Bridge City, downtown, mass transit, NBA, Portland, portland magic, Portland Oregon, Portland Trail Blazers, west hills, Willamette River