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GOOD EXPECTATIONS, VARIED RESULTS

August 20, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Good expectations, not great, are the more reasonable expectations for most people. Even when you harbor feelings of greatness, who would you tell without sounding like a nut-job? Yes, I hear you with your, “But Muhammad Ali . . .” He was ‘The Greatest’ and proved it over an over, until he became what all […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: American civil war, American History, art, autobiography, big jobs, black market, cancer, Civil War, death camps, diverse interests, expectations, family historian, General Eisenhower, general grant, good expectations, good teachers, great expectations, history, history buff, history museum, I like Ike, jobs, literature, loss, memoir, monuments men, muhammad Ali, museum men, museum mistake, plunder, primary sources, racial, racial profiling, reasonable expectations, serious research, teachers, The Greatest, throat cancer, WWII

THE EASY WAY, OR THATAWAY

August 10, 2025 by David Gillaspie

The idea of the ‘easy way’ is a problem. To those who know how to do everything, it’s all easy. For them, not you. Anyone else who tries doing what they do would screw up. For example:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: annals of history, Army, army shirt, belligerent, community, community march, conductor, daughters, decisions, dishonest, easy way, emotional, emotional meltdown, first class, first class story, good story, history, honest, kind, kindness, Kurt Vonnegut, march, meltdown, nice, protest, secret mission, that way, thataway, ticket to ride, turbulent times, undisclosed location, user instructions

CONTINUING LEGACY, CONTINUING STORY

August 6, 2025 by David Gillaspie

When a continuing legacy includes another brick in the wall, or sidewalk, it’s a reminder. Who does this? I do, as part of a group, a family group. What’s it a reminder for? The path ahead.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Army, brick in the wall, continuing legacy, continuing story, family, family group, farm raised, first house, Grandparents, history, LA, legacy, legacy brick, live chicken, memories, NYC, pfc gillaspie, philadelphia, reckless, regular army, shadow, shadow girl, story

WINNING STYLE FOR WINNERS

July 30, 2025 by David Gillaspie

This was my first view of winning style. As a very obedient child, (checking references,) I did what I was told. Go to a corner? On my way. Stand over there? Okay. Or bask in the moment like Muhammad Ali? It was an eye opener for little kids learning the sports ropes before rope-a dope.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: BOOMER, Churchill, civilized world., Death, death camps, drama in Bahama, Eisenhower, elder statesmen, family men, free world, gladiators, great evil, growing old, history, holocaust, joined forces, kids, Love, marital advice, mass deportation, mass murder, mass round-ups, muhammad Ali, murder, obedient child, old codgers, peace of mind, rumble in the jungle, The Greatest, thrilla in manila, warriors, winners, winning, winning style, write, wrote

LIFE CHOICE MAKES YOU GREAT

July 26, 2025 by David Gillaspie

One life choice can make all the difference. Things were tough on the Oregon Trail and people needed a break. The Donner Party started with a little known shortcut through the mountains. If you don’t know the story, click here. It turned out to be the wrong choice.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: blogger, blogger life, boomerpdx, earth, education, explore, failure to communicate, family, following orders, france, German leadership, history, human awareness, life, life choice, living life, millennials, paris, shameful reminder, space, tank man, writer, writing, writing life, WWII, your life

DEAR DOCTOR, IT HURTS WHEN I DO THIS

July 15, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Who dreams of telling their dear doctor what hurts and they make it all better? Me, I do, and so does everyone who ever had a ‘hitch in their get-along.’ That’s what my Dad called the way our old babysitter Violet’s way of walking. She had a rolling gait on one side, what I now […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: American, American History, Baby Boomers, Benzos, blood thinners, dangerous symptoms, dear doctor, doctor, doctor appointments, downward spiral, failure, followers, help out, history, intentional ignorance, it hurts, keep fighting, leading voices, liquid oxy, mental health, Michael Jordan, millennials, oxy, pharmacy, prescription, resisting, scientific, scientific method, statins, superstar, temptation, winning

GOOD FORTUNE: ACCIDENTAL OR PLANNED

July 13, 2025 by David Gillaspie

My happy good fortune could never be planned any more than a shark chooses their favorite remora. It’s all been a long string of happy coincidence. Just another fat baby boomer taking up space in comfort and luxury. That’s me. How about you, same thing? Probably not, but check with younger people to know for […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: accident, accidental, America, baby boomer, bad boyfriend, blog, blogger, blogger attention, BOOMER, boomer blogger, boomers, Constitution, fortune, good fortune, history, Jakes, law, misfortune, Oregon, planned, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, shared concern, staged, unmasking, veritable quandary

ONE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE LATER

July 9, 2025 by David Gillaspie

How often does a declaration of independence come up? I declared my independence early. It was a quiet declaration that went something like: I do declare my living conditions to be unlivable. What did I do? Nothing.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Army, baby boomer, BOOMER, brother, Coos Bay, declaration, declaration of independence, free, free time, freedom, history, independence, independent, independent minded, Middle Child, personal responsibility, summer job, unstructured time, wife

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

LEARNING MORE AS WE GO? OK BOOMER

June 22, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Learning more is a life goal. Sharing life goals with others makes it even better. Baby boomers in the long haul of marriage have so much to look forward to, and look back on. That’s the benefit of sticking around, of sticking together. Embrace your history, ok boomer? How does that work? Stick around.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, black belt, BOOMER, education, history, history books, history question, learning, learning more, listening, martial arts, more better, ok boomer, pain, personal history, pho, read books, reading, sticking around, sticking together, teachers, teaching, the boss, Vietnam, Vietnam War, war story, what happened, writing