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MORE LIGHT FOR BETTER VISION

July 3, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Better vision comes from two places at 70: It’s either understanding things better, or cataract surgery. Let’s go with understanding things better today. What do you need to see?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: adapt, better vision, broken loyalty, broken promise, broken trust, celebrity, change, click driven, do more, good fortune, historical, history, influencer, nerd dance, nerds, online world, salute, sour feeling, understanding, vision

CLEAN SLATE? IT’S NOT TOO LATE

April 20, 2025 by David Gillaspie

The clean slate, the fresh start, is possible every day. Start over, begin again, it happens every day. That’s a picture from the night I met The Schonz. He was a sassy old bird with a firm grip. He gave me a clean slate for any other famous Portlander I might meet.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: begin again, blog, blogger, clean slate, Easter, education, every day, fresh start, happy easter, historical, MARRIAGE, millennials, old bird, old man, Oregon, sassy, start over, wife, writers

FOLLOWING ORDERS WITH FELLOW FOLLOWERS

March 6, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Following orders seems simple at face value: Someone tells someone what to do and the second someone does it. Done deal? Not so fast.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: all volunteer army, Army, boss, bullied, bully, caregiver, cowing down, face value, fear, fellow followers, followers, following, following orders, germany, historical, historical reference, karma, loss, mai lai massacre, orders, Parkinson's, powerful position, senior care, soldiers, testosterone, volunteer, war, WWII, young men

ATTENTION SPAN DEBATE ON VALENTINES’S DAY: WHAT?

February 14, 2025 by David Gillaspie

A short attention span is normal? Older people like to joke about going into another room for some reason they can’t remember. It happens all the time, but there’s a hack: You have to stay in the room until you remember. That’s Michael Corleone wishing brother Fredo well.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: attention span, blog, blogger, boomerpdx, coment, debate, documentary, happy face, historical, history, Hubers, memories, museum, museum of you, Portland, Portlandia, Seahawk, valentine's day, wife, writer, writers, writing

TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS IN WASHINGTON AND OREGON

December 4, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Traditions and customs reek of history and ceremony. Just the way I like it. The more the merrier is fitting for both. But, like George Harrison said, “All things must pass.”

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Bybee howell house, customs, Fort Vancouver, historical, history, learning, museum, museum crew, new, old, old and new, Oregon, Oregon History, review, traditions, traditions and customs, travel, trifle

PASSING TIME, PASSING THROUGH

September 10, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Passing time with my mother in-law on her birthday was a gift to everyone. Her birthday was May 5, Cinco de Mayo, and we worked it hard every year. So did she.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: blogger, david, dreams, failures, good life, historical, mother in law, passing through, passing time, personal anecdotes, pubic blogger, public blog, time

PORTLAND HISTORY COMEBACK JUST IN TIME

July 14, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Portland history used to be easy. Two old guys flipped a coin in a clearing and here we are living happily ever after. That’s my story, but I’m not sticking to it when I tell the Portland story.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomers, historical, history, love affair, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMER, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, portland comeback, portland history, Portland Oregon, Portland people, portland story, urban planning, urban renewal

INTERNET SHOWTIME SATURDAY WITH A SIDE OF HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

July 13, 2024 by David Gillaspie

I’m a big fan of internet showtime, the daily scroll. But I keep it simple. I’m not looking for verification, authentication, or validation. Not looking for lawyers, guns, or money. What I’m looking for is attention grabbing posts, videos, and stories. Make me pause. Is that asking for too much?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: assault trooper, baby boomers. blogger, blog, bloggers, BOOMER, boomerpdx, boomers, cannon fodder, daily scroll, fake, historical, historical record, history, Internet, internet showtime, perspective, reflection, showtime, trump rally, twitter, wars of history, write, writer, writers, X

BLAME ENGLAND FOR THAT?

May 22, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Blame England? For what? For being so green, so lush, so historical with its leftover Roman roots? For having current people renting and living in four or five hundred year old houses? Go ahead and blame England for anything you want and you’ll be able to find evidence backing it up. Just make it good. […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: blame england, brainwashing, educational, England, English, English tea, englishy, evidence, family, forgiving, gracious, historical, my wife, ok boomer, polite, political, Rick Steves, river Avon, Roman origins, Sports fans, tea, travel, travel buddies, understanding, wife

THE COTSWOLD SURPRISE, DAY TWO

May 21, 2024 by David Gillaspie

The Cotswold surprise would be less if I read more, then I’d know this land was once the land of Wool Barrons and landed gentry. I’d have known it was the land of Big Wool who carried their fleece to market on ancient Roman roads. But I like the element of surprise, just not when […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: cotswallds, Cotswold surpirse, driving, England, historical, history, logistics, money, no driving, old houses, slower paced, tourists, travel, wool barrens, wool king, wool kings