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PORTLAND, OREGON – 1971 – DRIVE CAREFULLY

September 1, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Portland, Oregon, city of dreams, or the end of the line. The end of the western line may be Astoria, but let’s stick to Portland. This blog post shows approaches to town on different roads. Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze Well it’s all right, if you live the life you […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Astoria, Baby Boomer blogger, big picture, city of dreams, debarkation, debarkation line, drive carefully, education, end of the line, good company, history, life, native country, old portland, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, Social media, stranded, stranger, writer, writers, writing

YES, I CAN HEAR YOU. ARE YOU LISTENING TODAY?

August 30, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

I’m listening today, like every day, for that special spark of something, something interesting, but I’d settle for less. Short of that, I hope for something that jumps out from social media, something blog-worthy. That’s a big deal with a blog, a big deal for writers, finding a topic to expand on. Too often they […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: anxiety, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, biggest priority, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, failure, food, guilty conscience, guilty conscious, hear me, innocent, life, listen well, listening, listening today, moron, ordinary life, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, rest, sleep, stream of thought, worry, writer, writers, writing

THE PROPER PERSPECTIVE TO WRITING AN EVERYDAY BLOG

June 25, 2026 by David Gillaspie

An everyday blog is just what it sounds like: Every. Day. Like most things worth pursuing, it takes tenacity and creativity to make something worth writing into something worth reading. No problem, write. Right? But, there’s more.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Army, Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, creativity, culture, culture shock, dream, education, English major, everyday blog, facebook, family, history, late seventies, learning, life, Love, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, proper perspective, Social media, tenacity, travel, wax museum, wife, writer, writer dream, writer's block, writers, writing, youtube

I READ THE NEWS TODAY OH BOY

June 12, 2026 by David Gillaspie

The news today is all about world events. News organizations deliver it every day with the same hype and urgency. News hounds consume every detail and load it onto the pile they carry in case someone asks them ‘what’s up?’ That’s when you brace yourself for the headlines as if they’re coming from an anchorman. […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boyfriends, education, family, family reunion, girlfriends, good life, grandkids, high school, kids, learning, life, lifelong guide, married, memory, news, news today, sassy, smart, stories, story, women

RETIREMENT WARNINGS FOR BOOMERS IN THE FAST LANE

June 3, 2026 by David Gillaspie

You’re in the fast lane and know it when you pull up on a Waymo car. Waymo has named the Rose City as one of the next locations welcoming its own fleet of self-driving vehicles. As part of the announcement, the company revealed it will start manually operating the cars on Tuesday to “help […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: acid dropping freaks, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blog, blogger, boomerpdx, cars, classic cars, fast lane, hippies, hobbies, life, MARRIAGE, married, mobility, Oldsmobile, Oregon, retire, retirement hobbies, retirement warnings, retirement window, retiring, the future, travel, Waymo, wife, writer, writers, writing

BUSY LIFE IN THE FAST LANE, PASSING LANE, OR . . .

March 28, 2026 by David Gillaspie

A busy life means making a difference to someone, to something, to somewhere. Take your pick. Pick more than one. What you can’t pick is anyone else’s priorities for their busy life. You can try, but why?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, beer, blogger, boomerpdx, busy group, busy life, busy people, cigarettes, do your part, dui, fast lane, good health, grandkids, health, kids, life, Love, love train, passing lane, wife, writer, writing

FIGURE THINGS OUT BY WRITING THEM DOWN? OKAY BOOMER

February 6, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Is it true you can figure things out by writing them down, or is there more to it? Who said, “I don’t know what I think until I write it down?” Who? Don’t panic, it was Joan Didion. I know questions make some people nervous. (Me) From National Public Radio:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, challenge, current trend, digital platform, education, facebook, figure things out, fitness, grade school, historical context, Joni Mitchell, learning, life, married, merry go round, national public radio, NPR, ok boomer, Oregon, pacific northwest, personal blog, poison, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, questions, story, travel, twitter, wife, writer, writers, writing

ORDINARY MEN: RESERVE POLICE BATTALION 101 REVIEW

January 28, 2026 by David Gillaspie

After watching a portion of a documentary on German Reserve Police Battalion 101 I’m left with concerns. As the story is told on Netflix, ordinary men were recruited into police work. The idea of joining a police staff was better than going to the front. The guys selected got some extra training, then loaded up […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Alex pretti, America, americans, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, Constitution, Death, die, dog song, due process, education, father, fellow citizens, following, following orders, friends, government, history, holocaust, killing, learning, liberty, life, mass killing, mother, murderers, neighbors, orders, ordinary men, police battalion 101, property, sing, singing, true americans, writer, writers, writing, WWII

WHEN ALCOHOL HITS DIFFERENT(LY)

December 8, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Alcohol hits everyone differently. Like any disruptive element, you need to find the boundaries. Saying “Let’s get a beer” to a pal who keeps going until you get a phone call from a thousand miles away should only happen once. They need to set their boundaries. But what about you?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: alcohol, alcohol hits, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomer boozer, booze, drinking booze, education, expensive gifts, fitness, gin and tonic, learning, life, lime, Love, MARRIAGE, older people, sad, urgent issue, vulnerable, wife, writer, writing, youth

LIFE LESSONS START EARLY FOR OLD MEN

November 19, 2025 by David Gillaspie

As a middle child myself for fourteen years, life lessons were important. We learned early to share with smaller kids, and not whine too much when older kids didn’t. Was there a learning curve? There’s always a learning curve when learning is involved. It’s not for everyone, to say the least, but . . .

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: aging, America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, education, family, fitness, history, kids, learning, lesson, lessons, life, life lesson, life lessons, MARRIAGE, married, men, millennials, North Bend, old men, women, writer, writing