page contents Google

EMPATHY HAPPENS, EVENTUALLY

December 15, 2025 by

The man in the tap house said, “Empathy happens,” and he reminded me of how important it is to stop in for a beer when the occasion calls. I’ve known him for years, just not the way my wife knows people. She’s knows people like no one I know, so she asks questions that she […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MAKING CHANGE, EXACT CHANGE

December 12, 2025 by

With regular money transactions heading toward ‘tap and go’, the people making change, giving exact change, are growing more rare. You’ll find them at the drive through window, picking through coins for just the right combination. “Here’s four quarters instead of a dollar,” they say. Or, “$6.50 for my grande latte half-caff with oat milk? […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

GREAT WRITING: WHEN WORDS MATTER MORE

December 6, 2025 by

From Google AI on current sentence construction:   Basic Structure: Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) Subject: Who/what the sentence is about (e.g., Matt). Verb: The action or state of being (e.g., eats). Object: Receives the action (e.g., pizza). Example: “Matt eats pizza.”

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

YOU GOT BENCHED. THEN WHAT?

November 28, 2025 by

Your favorite fading sports star got benched. It happens sooner or later. They couldn’t play up to standards anymore. It’s worse when it happens to a promising star with everything in front of them. The pressure got to them, they got hurt, and lost their way. It happens to everyone eventually. We all get benched. […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE

November 26, 2025 by

My participation in the civic life of my country is pretty minimal. I do my part. That’s me and Abe doing our part together. He does his oversight from his seat, me from mine. Only one of us writes about it.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

GOOD TEAMMATE? BE ONE FOR THE TEAM

November 25, 2025 by

Either you are a good teammate, you’ve been a good teammate, or get out of here. That’s me in the dark Oregon hat in back. We’re on the breach in Seaside after Hood to Coast. It felt more like a deathbed after a short illness. But I’m not complaining, didn’t complain then, don’t complain now, […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

HISTORICAL ADVENTURES: REAL LIFE vs MY LIFE

November 24, 2025 by

Last night we reviewed historical adventures at my local five star with friends Some of us had a hand in it, one of us made things up. Guess who is who? Even I got confused, so much so that I have to get things straightened out. How does a baby boomer blogger do that? By […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FOR THOSE GIVING AND FOLLOWING ORDERS

November 22, 2025 by

Was it a treat to see an ocean of men and women trained in giving and following orders all in the same place? It was for me. These people are all Hall of Fame worthy, and already enshrined in my personal hall. While most of us packed our gear and went home after two, three, […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING WITH WOLVES

November 20, 2025 by

There comes a time in high school wrestling when you get thrown to the wolves. Ok, not real wolves, just the first time you knew you were over-matched, going to get rag-dolled, and still went out there. It doesn’t always work out the way it’s expected. I was a second year wrestler slated to face […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

LIFE LESSONS START EARLY FOR OLD MEN

November 19, 2025 by

As a middle child myself for fourteen years, life lessons were important. We learned early to share with smaller kids, and not whine too much when older kids didn’t. Was there a learning curve? There’s always a learning curve when learning is involved. It’s not for everyone, to say the least, but . . .

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,