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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.

BOOMER ENTERTAINMENT: A NICE RESTAURANT

Boomer entertainment starts with a dinner plan. Eat in, get take out, or sit at a tiny table in a ritzy restaurant. Which one is more entertaining for the long marrieds who’ve heard each other’s stories over and over and over as one of them likes reminding the other. “I’ve heard every story you’ve got […]

THOUGHTFUL TRAVEL, OR HOW TO GET WHERE YOU PLANNED ON GOING

Thoughtful travel feels like something that takes the fun out of adventure. Besides, how thoughtful do you need/want to be in getting someplace? Plan the place, load up, and head out works. Until it all goes south. If you have all of your thoughtful travel plans on your phone, then lose your phone on the […]

OREGON MAN: WHAT MAKES THEM EXTRA SPECIAL

Oregon man needs to leave the state and return to understand how special they are. Answer the question, “Where are you from?” with Oregon and the show begins. “Oregon? I’ve always wanted to go there,” they say, like it’s a mission to Mars.

AMERICAN CITY ON THE LEFT COAST: PORTLAND

Normandy, not Portland Portland, Oregon is an American city on the west coast. Not too big, not too small, but just right for a big rural state on the edge of the North American continent. (Think top left corner of America. That’s Seattle. Everybody knows Seattle. Portland is down from there.) For an extra reminder, […]

HOTEL DUQUESNE EIFFEL FROM OREGON

I stayed in two rooms of the same hotel, I liked it that much. Call it Paris fever. “Hotel Duquesne Eiffel is a small 7th Arrondissement hotel within walking distance of such Left Bank sites as the Eiffel Tower and Musee d’Orsay,” from an oyster.com review.

DAD BOSS TAKES A STAND, (with wife’s approval)

Every dad boss worth a damn had the right woman for back up. Is it true? Sift through the sands in your hourglass for the outstanding influencers in your life. Go ahead, I’ll wait . . . If you remember that teacher, that coach, that neighbor, for their insight on situations good and bad, men […]

ART WORLD DEFAULTS TO TRUTH IN THE ORSAY

Did the art world need a change in 1849? Who knows, I was just trying to keep up on a march through Paris in 2019. Ah, Paris. Just saying the name brings it all back: the museums, memorials, and churches; the neighborhoods, the Metro, and Versailles. Nothing hit harder than the painting in the top […]

REALITY vs STAGED: TRUST YOUR JUDGEMENT MORE THAN THE DREAM

Who hasn’t had reality bite them on the butt when they see a new place and say, “I thought it would be different.” It’s a companion piece to, “This doesn’t look like I imagined.” Not to leave out, “I’m still glad to be here.” When I visited Versailles I had expectations, which were fueled by […]

HOW TO TRAVEL LIKE A GYM RAT

A gym rat is an expert on gym fashion. Some are better at it than others, but gym fashion is big. Traveling like a gym rat means combining gym fashion with daily wear. Look around any street or mall or library and you’ll see it in action. And no, yoga pants aren’t part of the […]