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ON VETERANS DAY 2024

Veterans Day is for the old folks who remember their youth and those who were young with them. They remember the young people who didn’t have the chance to get old. My Dad got a chance to get old. He out-lived his Dad, just like I’m out-living him.

WRITING REWARDS YOU MISS IF YOU DON’T WRITE

Writing rewards come in flavors other than green. JD Salinger said the act of writing is reward enough. That from a guy who locked himself up for his reward. But he didn’t throw away the key.

NEXT YEAR, MAYBE THE YEAR AFTER

Next year shows up fast, so fast that you haven’t gotten over anything from the last year. Suddenly you’re stacking the new ‘get over it’ on top of the old ‘get over it.’ You used to care about getting over things. What happened? This happened:

NEW YORKER THURSDAY IN THE MAIL, A LESSON IN READING

The New Yorker magazine is my only subscription and I’m surprised how much fun it is. I actually look forward to it, which has been a surprise over the past year. I know what I’m doing on New Yorker Day:

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE? A REVIEW

A healthy lifestyle doesn’t start after you recover from a dreaded disease. Some people take illness as a reminder to step up their health routine, some ignore the whole thing. Which one is the right response? Both work, just one better than the other. But there’s that other part.

DAD DAYS TO GRANDDAD AND BEYOND

Dad days never end, and I’m glad. I didn’t sign up for the part time version. There wasn’t a switch to throw for the eighteenth birthday that said, ‘I’m done.’ I’ve been a dad since my first born, then doubled up with my second. Since then a few surprises joined up, just not those surprises.

ROCKY RELATIONSHIP WITH WRITING?

My rocky relationship with writing took a turn yesterday. It happens, but this one was avoidable. Boomerpdx was offline for ten hours. The longest ten hours of my . . . not my life. I just did other writer things. What writer things?

LIVING THAT NEW LIFE

A new life is more than losing weight and getting a tan. More than new shoes and low socks. More than a gold chain and a green neck. What’s the new life deal this time?

PERMANENT BUILDINGS FOR THE FUTURE

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?

COMPARISON CULTURE: BETTER THAN WHAT?

Comparison culture didn’t start with social media, but that’s where it found fertile ground. Baby Boomers and every generation before, all had the same comparison: My Dad is better than your dad. What comes after that? Maybe a fight.