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WANTED MAN vs NEEDED. THERE’S A DIFFERENCE?

September 5, 2026 by David Gillaspie

If you’re waiting for a wanted man to make life better, you’ll be waiting a minute. This man was a one-float parade around Silverton during my last visit. You could hear him from blocks away with his booming sound system blasting AC/DC. When I left, he followed my car out of town, then turned back […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, education, family, history, learning, Love, love you, MARRIAGE, millennials, music, need you, North Bend, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, silverton, Social media, story, town characters, travel, want you, wanted man, wife, writer, writers, writing

CLASSIC PORTLAND RIVALRY

September 3, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Social media Portland isn’t for the weak of heart. It’s either heaven on earth, or a hell hole from the underworld sticky goo. If you showed up recently, things are looking better; if you’ve been here a minute you’ve seen the ups and downs. Lastly, if you’ve lived here your whole life? Uh oh.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, chopping wood, classic portland rivalry, education, facebook, family, fitness, history, human rivalry, kids, learning, Love, millennials, North Bend, nostalgia, nostalgic, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, portland rivalries, rivalries, Social media, social media portland, wife, writer, writers, writing

THE MISSING PART ON A GUITAR? YOU

August 31, 2026 by David Gillaspie

You’ve got plans, you make plans, and there’s always a missing part. If you’re getting older and reading about the aging brain, you start worrying about your brain, and everyone your age with a functioning brain. What about that baby boomer brain? Is it getting slippery? Harder to hold on to? Then you read something […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: acoustic guitar, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, blogger, boomer blogger, boomer brain, boomerpdx, brain, concentration, education, fitness, focus, GUITAR, history, learning, learning process, luxury car, mental, MISSING PART, music, music store, musical instrument, story, wife, writer, writers, writing

FULL MOON ROCK AND ROLL

August 29, 2026 by David Gillaspie

It’s best to have a full moon and rock and roll playing during a lunar eclipse. These ladies are showing the back catalogue. Which one’s pink? I don’t know, but I see the dark side of the moon. Music and celestial events go hand in hand, like Pink Floyd during a Pink Moon.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: audience of idiots, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, dark side of the moon, dropped acid, drugs, facebook, full moon, grass, greek gods, hippie, history, jackass, learning, LSD, marijuana, old hippie, one of these days, Pink Floyd, reefer, reefer madness, rock and roll, roman gods, smoking weed, Social media, story, travel, tripping, twitter, uranus, wife, writer, writers, writing, zeus

GUITAR NIGHT STARTER PACK

August 21, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Guitar night always starts the same: With a plan. Plan to sound musical, nothing more, nothing less. The plan is successful when two people play together the first time and agree they sounded good. For at least ten seconds. Why ten seconds?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, bad childhood, band practice, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, dna, dreams, dropout, fender, fender telecaster, Get better, GUITAR, guitar night, guitar practice, hopes, improve, learning, music, musical dna, new guitar, open mic, parents, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, practice, repeating, sing, singer, telecaster, travel, twitter, writer, writers

LIFE BEFORE SOCIAL MEDIA

August 18, 2026 by David Gillaspie

As a seasoned blogger I’ve grown immune to social media. Is someone who discovers boomerpdx on their own any different than someone who lands here based on algorithms and exposure? With subscription numbers I can present to sponsors as a metric, they are not. People, people like you, me, them, subscribe to blogs on a […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: attention, Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, book, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, college, daddy, facebook, global platforms, instagram, interest, learning, miracle, music, poem, poetry, reading, Social media, story, sylvia plath, tiktok, twitter, wechat, whatsapp, wife, writer, writers, writing, youtube

PORTLAND SUMMER CHEER FROM HERE

August 17, 2026 by David Gillaspie

How far is a carefree summer walk in the park from the pressure packed navigation through the urban sprawl for Portland summer cheer? One moment you’re walking a forest trail along the mighty Tualatin River counting birds and snakes and turkey vultures. Look, two snakes. Take the bridge for a good look at the river […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: American Dream, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, commerce, dream, education, historical, history, kids, learning, millennials, music, Oregon dream, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, portland dream, Portland Oregon, portland summer, shared dream, Social media, story, travel, twitter, writer, writers, writing

FOR THE LAST TIME: A LIST

August 15, 2026 by David Gillaspie

You come to the last time after too many bad burgers, bad drinks, and bad decisions. Enough is finally enough. This post was inspired by a short visit to a local tap house, the last such visit. What happened?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: atomic bombs, beer, better jobs, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, civilization, commander, drink, education, enthusiasm, facebook, happy hour, higher education, hiroshima, history, hotelier, japan, last time, learning, more money, nagasaki, rising generations, rude, Social media, suburbs, the last time, travel, twitter, vote, wife, wine, winery, writer, writers, writing, WWII

MATTRESS SHOPPING + BABY BOOMER = MARRIAGE COUNSELING

August 14, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Go mattress shopping and expect to find more than a mattress. Like what? The outstanding feature to me is meeting people who quote $20,000 for a new bed. Sound normal to you? Not to me, and here’s why:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: bed frame, bed shopping, boomer blogger, deep sleep, education, facebook, family, head board, history, kids, kill you, learning, MARRIAGE, marriage counseling, married, mattress shopping, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, Social media, story, travel, twitter, wife, writer, writers, writing

THE GREEN BOOK MOVIE REVIEW

August 13, 2026 by David Gillaspie

I saw The Green Book after watching documentaries on Bill Russell and Quincy Jones. The sequence matters because real people in the docs had already explained in pretty stark terms how it was to be black. The harsh reality they told showed up in scene after scene in a different context. How different?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blogger, boomer blogger, brooklyn, deep south, education, facebook, family, friend, friends, friendship, gay, green book, learning, life lessons, movie review, music, new york, race relations, racial strife, Social media, the army, the green book, travel, writer, writers, writing