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STORY SHAPE: MORE SAG IN THE MIDDLE?

March 3, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Story shape and physical fitness have that in common, the middle. From the beginning of ‘good fortune,’ the main character has a few moments until things dip downward. Think of the fanatical diet and exercise demon losing their edge in a Las Vegas buffet and taking off from the high dive into the Mexican, Italian, […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, beginning middle end, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, booze, drugs, education, learning, message, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, rejection, sex, story, story people, story shape, story weight, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing, WWII

GROWN MEN GROW UP, EVENTUALLY

August 4, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Eventually, grown men grow up and get with the program. They try to resist, but as we’ve learned, resistance is futile. So turn your hat around, stop the online sports betting, and make someone proud. Put on your big boy pants one leg at a time and stand for something. But what? Let’s take a […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: adult male, ambitious, ambitious woman, bachelor pad, better example, better life, BOOMER, Coos Bay, grow, grow up, grown men, hippie, historical, long haul, message, new york, older adult, Oregonian, Portland, portland pad, pushed, short haul, sports betting, stoned, stoned hippie, test of time

LIFE LONG LEARNING STARTS WITH A CALL

July 8, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Life long learning doesn’t end with the last school day, the last class, the last good-bye. It doesn’t end with a diploma, a certificate, or a license. Those indicate the culmination of a training sequence, but the learning is just starting. Now you find out what you need to know, which is . . . […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Afghanistan war, aging, baby boomer, BOOMER, business, city, etiquette, feelings, felon, helpful advice, high school, improvement, learning, life, life long, life long learning, livability, manners, message, North Bend, small town, turkey neck, Vietnam War, young people

MORE ‘WANT TO?’ BUT WHERE IS IT

December 26, 2024 by David Gillaspie

‘Want to’ is what you need starting out. More ‘want to’ is what it takes to keep going. Some folks use it all in the start-up phase, others in the keep going phase. Then there’s the closer who never runs out.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: advice, anger, bitterness, class structure, closer, education, failure, family, friends, hidden motivation, keep going, learning, message, motivation, neighbors, ocean, ohio, Portland Oregon, regrets, school, self fulfillment, society, sorrow, start up, want to, want to want to, wanted

GIVING THANKS TO CAREFUL READERS

November 2, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Giving thanks for anything is a good idea. It only gets funky when you try to work it into something else, like the opposite of thanks. Would that be irony? But a sweet thank-you is not the same as a hearty F-you. All cleared up?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: author, blog, blog network, blogger, bloggers, boomerpdx, careful readers, comments, downtown Portland, filling a need, giving, giving thanks, gratitude, hairstyle, heart of portland, message, messaging, online, pissy old man, Portland, Portland Outdoor Store, readers, reading, scam, Social media, spam, thanks, vote, voter, voting, wig spam, writer

AGE APPROPRIATE FOR WHO

May 9, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Who says, “Grow up and try to be age appropriate,” and who do they say it too? Your hair’s too long, your clothes don’t match, and you don’t smoke the same cigarettes as them. But that was a long time ago. Since 1966 we’ve learned how to find satisfaction.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: age appropriate, Baby Boomers, boomers, brown weather, complainer, conspiracy, ELECTED OFFICIALS, grow up, lady's man, leadership, life span, message, monkey suit, ok boomer, old man, older dudes, Portland State, raw dog, real job, real problem, regret, relationships, satisfaction, stinky fog, style, thirties, wedding, wedding planner, whiner, whipped dog, wife

TOXIC MALE? HOW TO TELL

April 26, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Baby boomers were exposed to the toxic male early on, but it had another name: Junior High Football Coach. But it wasn’t their fault, it was just the times. When guys with names like Dick Butkus, Ray Nitschke, and Sam Huff were stuffing guys like Jim Brown and Jim Taylor, every coach wanted their players […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: addicts, baby boomer, BOOMER, de-tox male, dream, facebook, financial moment, get married, goomar, history, keep dreaming, male, MARRIAGE, married, memorable moment, message, moral moment, mouthy guys, movie magic, pride, religious moment, self indulgent, self interest, self promoting, toxic, toxic male, twitter, wedding vows

MESSAGE SENT, FOLLOWED BY REGRET AND HOPE

August 28, 2021 by David Gillaspie

The message sent about Portland Oregon is one of hope. When the homeless set up camp, Portland hoped they were comfortable. Protest marchers clashed with Portland police hoping for change. Rival groups faced off. The message sent to them, to us, was there would be no police involvement. I suppose the hope was they would […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: clear communications, covid, covid-19, homeless camps, hope, message, message sent, personal responsibilities, Portland, Portland Oregon, public health, regret, rival groups