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ERRAND BOY? EMBRACE THE JOB

October 6, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Who’s an errand boy? Who isn’t? That’s how things get done, doing on errands. What else is there, hiring someone to do errands? But there are times it makes sense.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: boots, calmed down, caregiver, cement blocks, construction, enema, errand boy, errand boy proud, errands, family, fitness, hard labor, he-man, home care, hope, hotrod, Mom, pain, pride, professional intervention, property, step dad, weight lifter, wife

FAMILY TIME SUNSET ON THE WESTERN EDGE

October 1, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Family time needs a motto, and this could be one: “It’s better to create something and be criticized that to create nothing and criticize others.” But what feeds the creative force?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: beer, create, creative, creative force, dads, family, family success, family time, jerk, kids, moms, open question, pedicure, projects, raise kids, relax, relaxing, shit talk, time, wife

HARD LIVING ON PURPOSE

September 24, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Hard living is something to avoid, most of the time. I’ve heard it said at funerals: “They had a hard life.” And it’s true, but is it avoidable?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: better life, building, child, construction, family, fence, fence building, fence wood, hard life, hard living, hard way, home depot, homeowner, kids, material handling, property, repetitious monotony, son, wood, work hard

BAD THERAPY ON BOOK TV

September 7, 2024 by David Gillaspie

A book called Bad Therapy on c-span? I’m watching. When is the best time to watch Book TV? Trick question: Any time is the best time. Extra points for tuning in while lifting weights in the garage. You’ll be lucky to find this episode:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Abigail Shrier, bad therapy, book tv, c-span, dad parenting, dad time, family, feelings, good therapy, job, kids, parent, parenting, public figure, sports dad, suicide, teach, therapy, wrestler, wrestling

SHAPE UP. THEN WHAT?

September 4, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Shape up. I’ve told myself that more than once. I’ve also looked at others and said the same thing. To myself. Most of the time.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Arnold Schwarzenegger, blogger, bloggers, body building, Charles Atlas, conditioning, culture, Dave draper, exercise, facebook, Facebook update, family, fitness, fitness blogger, fitness writer, football, granddad, heroes, muscle, older brother, sports, stronger, the future, UPDATE, wife, workout, workout culture, workouts, wrestling, writer, writers

COMPARISON CULTURE: BETTER THAN WHAT?

August 29, 2024 by David Gillaspie

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.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: boomer blogger, boomerpdx, compare, comparison culture, crime, criminal, Death, education, facebook, family, fertile ground, jewelry, Social media, twitter, wife, writer, writers, writing

LIVING LARGE? WHAT’S THE SECRET

August 12, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Living large usually means more than drawing a breath. Most people compare themselves to others for reference. Not me. My large living is no secret:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: blogger knows, business, check out, compare, corporate ladder, dad knows, different reality, dress nicer, emergency, family, feelings, go solo, gray flannel suit, guys, happy, isolation, kids, like minded, living large, long distance, lose wight, new man, new woman, normal hours, people who care, reality, recovery, support group, unexpected, wholeheartedly, wives, work at nothing, work life, writer knows

MIDNIGHT TRAIN GOING ANYWHERE?

August 10, 2024 by David Gillaspie

The midnight train is always going somewhere. You and I? Not so much. Oh, we’re going somewhere, too, but we don’t know where that is. And we’re not supposed to.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: angry girl, approval, city boy, daily news, family, girlfriend, lifetime, lonely world, manhattan, married, midnight train, movie, my boys, my story, new york, one woman, Portland, small town, the future, west Africa

COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN

June 29, 2024 by David Gillaspie

If a writer isn’t complaining, what are the other options? After a quick look since I came up with nothing, it’s praise. Praising. But we’re not used to praising. That needs to change.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: authentic, authentic writing, be authentic, blog, blogger, common man, complain, complain culture, complain effectively, complaining, complaint, culture, dread, education, family, favoritism, fear, French exit, manchurian candidate, Patrick DeWitt, politician, politics, praise, praise the lord, praising, screaming, stage fright, write, writer, yelling

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