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QUITTERS NEVER WIN, WINNERS NEVER QUIT, BUT . . .

Quitters carry a label that’s hard to peal off, steam off, or scratch off. Once someone gets used to quitting important things, they can quit anything. The best of them develop a skill set where they try to convince themselves they didn’t really quit anything. The reasoning? They were surrounded by real quitters so no […]

CHOICES MADE, ROADS TAKEN

We live with choices made, some we make, some made for us. Who among us wants a voice? Who here asks a question and accepts the answer offered? Most important, what is the question that needs an answer today, right now? I’ll go first, since I’m the blogger authority here, and start with wrong questions.

WRITING LIFE LOOKS FOR SMOKING WRITERS

Do people in the writing life smoke to show they’d rather die than change bad habits? Or maybe they secretly want to lose a few pounds, although Joan Didion may disagree. The writing life? Please. I hear that and think of droopy people sitting around typewriters with a pipe or cigarette stuck in their face. […]

FASHION FORWARD: HOW TO DRESS AMERICA

Lady Liberty greeted my in-laws when they sailed on the Queen Elizabeth from England to Canada showing them how to dress America. She wore the same frock then as she does now with diagonally draped material pinned to her left shoulder and her bare right arm raised overhead holding the torch of liberty. It’s been […]

Violence, Anger, And The Great Sadness

    Where does it come from, this violence, anger, and sadness? We’re not born with it, according to experts.   The same experts say we learn certain behavior.   How to explain unexplained violence? When is the right time to lash out and hurt?   Another writer, another blogger, might roll out their research […]

NEW SPRING WORKING IT OUT IN TIGARD

  “Like sand through the hour glass, these are the days of our lives.”   A nice reminder when things get more than a little too dramatic.   I’d rather hear a soap opera intro than the Persian proverb, “This too shall pass.” To fatalistic.   Unless it’s a really awful thing I can’t wait […]

WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKED LIKE TO NEW PARENTS

  New families are the future of life on earth? Agree? Who doesn’t hope such a broad statement is true with kids in the house? Instead of feeling trapped by the needs of someone other than yourself, feel the power. Do it right and they grow up to make the sort of decisions that promote […]

MESSAGE TO AGING MILLENNIALS: STAND TOGETHER

Eventually you figure out where you stand. How does that work? Look around. You’re not standing alone. Even when if feels like no one notices, they do. What they notice is context, where you are, and the nearest identifier. The biggest thing is if they decide to join you. You might call it selfish to […]

VISITING WASHINGTON COUNTY JAIL, pt. 2

To visit a prisoner in Hillsboro, you need to get on their visitor list. It’s not a drop-in deal. Then you need to provide your address and Oregon Drivers License number. No one wants a squirrely visitor raising hell on the block. They’ve got enough problems. I want to visit one of my son’s friends […]