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MAKING PROGRESS WITH GRAND DECKS

June 1, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Making progress on a deck doesn’t look like this, but the ending does. Inspector dog agrees. Three picture framed sections? Check. Boards fastened without anything showing? Check. Railing is sturdy? Check. But what did it look like before?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: architect, artist, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, builders, building, education, engineer, facebook, grand decks, history, making progress, millennials, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, progress, story, wife, writer, writers, writing, youtube

FENDER TELECASTER, MORE THAN A FEELING

May 31, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Playing notes and chords on a Fender Telecaster is an act of history. Even more if it’s a butterscotch Tele. Why? Because it has a legacy. It’s an historical artifact, a throwback, brought up to date every year. Playing one puts you in the legacy no matter how long, whether from 1950 to yesterday. But […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: boomer blogger, boomerpdx, dreams, family, fender, fender guitar, fender telecaster, historical legacy, history, hopes, kids, legacy, MARRIAGE, millennials, music, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, story, telecaster, telecaster guitar, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing

BOOK BUYBACK AT POWELL’S BEAVERTON

May 30, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

A book buyback trip to Powell’s Beaverton store usually hurts my brain. This time was no exception. Ouch, my head. Out of four bankers boxes full of books this is the shot of what they bought back. Am I buying the wrong books?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, beaverton, book, book buyback, books, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, buying, buying books, education, history, learning, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, powell's, Powell's beaverton, reader, reading, reading books, story, wife, writer, writers, writing

HELPING OTHERS DO THEIR JOB?

May 26, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Helping others has always been a trend. We are remembered if we help others and you want to be remembered don’t you? Remembered for more than your stunning good looks and colorful repartee? Be helpful. But not too helpful. There is a standard, after all.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, BOOMER, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, caregiver, customer service, education, family, family caregiver, help, helping, helping others, history, learning, Love, Oregon, over Dave, people pleaser, raving kook, Social media, story, wife, writer, writers, writing

MEMORIAL DAY WITH THE BOYS AT 19

May 25, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Memorial Day is good time to remember what it is and who it’s for. From Google AI: The average age of war dead in World War I was approximately 26 to 27 years old, depending on the nation and the stage of the conflict. While the average age hovered in the mid-to-late twenties, more […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Belgian, belgium, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, Flanders field, follow orders, historical, history, history channel, Korea, memorial day, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Stella, stella Artois, story, talking orders, travel, Vietnam, wife, writer, writers, writing, wwi, WWII

Time beginning, the MIDDLE, and end

May 23, 2026 by David Gillaspie 1 Comment

Where is time beginning every day? Somewhere in England. I was there during one of my drives through the English countryside in a tiny Vauxhall with my wife and two gigantic teenagers inside. Did they enjoy their historical moments in the olde country, their strolls along legendary paths? Yes, they did.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: boomer blogger, boomerpdx, Death, education, end, end of time, English countryside, family, history, kids, learning, live it up, Love, MARRIAGE, middle, new ways, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Social media, time beginning, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing

HIGH SCHOOL CLASS FOR PLUMB, LEVEL, AND SQUARE

May 18, 2026 by David Gillaspie 2 Comments

The high school class I regret not taking? Shop. Woodworking. Construction. Why the regret? I bought a table saw. It’s piece of machinery people in their thirties and forties buy because there’s something missing in their life: They’ve never built anything. The table saw is also famous for kick-backs that send a piece of lumber […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, carpentry, construction, construction industry, education, framing, high school, history, kids, learning, level, Love, lumber, plumb, Redmond High School, safety, square, trades, useful, wood, woodworking, writer, writers, writing

VOTERS’ PAMPHLET OR VISION OF THE FUTURE

May 17, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

What do you do when the voters’ pamphlet arrives in the mail? Ignore it because you already know who to vote for? Open it up to see who in the world would put themselves up for election? Or read it in search for better candidates for better representation at the local and national level?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: American, american citizenship, Baby Boomer blogger, best choices, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, citizenship, constituents, dog, education, elected office, elections, future, generations, history, ignorant, mid term elections, millennials, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, Social media, stupid, vote, voter, voters, voters' pamphlet, wife, writer, writing

MY BEATLES MARATHON

May 14, 2026 by David Gillaspie 2 Comments

First off, it didn’t start as a planned Beatles marathon. I hadn’t even thought of it when my wife came home and said, “This is the same music I heard when I left this morning.” Me: Hey Siri, play The Beatles for two days. No, I didn’t say that. Nobody says that, but here we […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Beatles, beatles marathon, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, ed Sullivan, history, husband, LA, MARRIAGE, media distractions, new music, small town, Social media, the Beatles, wife

MAY 1986, THE LAST WEDDING

May 10, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

It was a cloudy, wet, day, in May 1986 for the last wedding. Like so many raised on the Oregon coast, a cloudy, wet, day, is good luck no matter where you are. Everything was done, everything set in Sandy, from rented morning coats to a rented preacher. The preacher was a second choice.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, family, history, last wedding, Love, MARRIAGE, wedding, wedding anniversary, wedding day, wedding vows, wife, writer, writers, writing