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AMERICAN LETTERS FROM THERE

  My American letters began sixty-eight years ago. But that wasn’t nearly old enough. So I pulled a college history degree, American History with an emphasis in NW History including seminars on the Origins of WWI, and post-WWII Germany. Was I intrigued, or just taking classes that fit my time frame? Both. And it still […]

SPORTS BOOK REVIEW: GRACIE GOES GOLFING

This sports book review comes via an author’s reading at Annie Bloom’s Books. Last night author Arran Gimba packed the house. From his daughters and their friends, along with their parents, they were a dream audience. What is it about an author reading that gets people out of the house? Let’s start with the joy […]

HUSBAND SCHOOL GRADED ON CURVE

Husband school, if you want to know, has one major problem: The teachers. With such poor examples leading class, who are they to judge? Start with the fairy book life of this former prince.

ANGRY PEOPLE PULL MORE ANGER

Angry people need an audience like a bird needs air, like a fish needs water. Without other people the angry one is a solo yeller. With other people they are a leader calling out ‘THE TRUTH.’ That’s when ‘the truth’ takes a dive.

WHEN ‘OLDEN DAYS’ GET OLDER

My olden days started in 5th grade. It was a nice day in North Bend, Oregon. A little chilly, not that foggy, and just windy enough to spread your jacket out like wings and lean in to it. I skipped half the lunch recess outside and ducked into the grade school library. The door was […]

FEARLESS LIVING, AND OTHER MYTHS

The key to Fearless Living? Don’t live past a certain age. But what’s that age? The most fearless person I know is two years old, but they don’t know how fearless they are. Who among is living fearlessly past two? Who is not?

LIFETIME LEARNING MEANS HOMEWORK FOREVER?

Lifetime learning means not quitting until you figure things out. It also means knowing what you don’t know and when to call an expert. This is when it gets dicey. You know what you don’t know, but still wonder if the experts know more. These are the lessons of when to listen and learn.

RECOMMENDED READING: T.C. BOYLE’S ‘GOING DOWN’

Recommended reading for writers? Common advice is to read everything, whatever that means. Do I read everything? Everything in a bookstore, or library? No, I read for inspiration, I read for cause, and my cause is writing.

INSPIRE CHANGE WITH DEEDS AND WORDS

“Inspire change” are not just pretty words to say. You can say it, write it, but there’s more: Show it. Remember the writer’s trope of, ‘Show, don’t tell?’ Do both to inspire change.

STUDENT LOANS FROM THE 70’S

Student loans start with a desire to learn, to go to college, to do something. Was it different in the 70’s? The smart academic advice on the street then was, Drop out, Turn on, Tune in. Given by a PhD.