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HISTORY WORK NEVER ENDS FOR THE CURIOUS

December 8, 2023 by

Doing history work where you live is the only way to get to your happy place. Or at least you’ll know where you are. The Oregon Historical Society’s downtown Portland history museum is just the place. But first ask yourself, “Am I curious?” If you read boomerpdx regularly, you pass the curious test. Take this […]

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OREGON HISTORICAL BUSINESS

November 3, 2023 by

The Oregon Historical Society holds a special place in my heart. I took a temporary job there as a museum guard, a six month assignment to watch over an exhibit called Soft Gold. Six months turned into twenty-odd years before I signed off. It was a dream job from guard, to exhibit worker, to curatorial […]

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ATOMIC BOMB EDUCATION FOR THE KIDS

October 7, 2023 by

Atomic bomb work never ends at Los Alamos. That’s where the legends began and this is the museum that tells the story. The Bradbury Science Museum. Who doesn’t like a good science museum for family fun?

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DIALECT STORIES TOLD IN TONGUES

January 24, 2023 by

Based on a particular vocabulary, all stories are dialect stories. From Mark Twain to Forrest Gump, and every stop in between. But what happens when language jumps off the page with directions, or recipes, or, wait for it: Feelings?

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AGING MUSIC FOR COUPLES TO GROW OLD BY

May 23, 2022 by

I first heard aging music from the Beatles. When I’m Sixty-Four came out when I was thirteen. Why would a young band contemplate being 64 years old? It seemed weird. Until I turned sixty-four.

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PRESERVED LAND FOR THE AGES

May 21, 2022 by

Preserved land, or land preservation, needs help. You know the old saying, ‘they don’t make more land?’ It’s never more true than land holding Native American sites. And that’s the problem.

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KNOWING MORE IS NOT THE PROBLEM

October 21, 2021 by

Knowing more at the end of a project is a jump start to the next one. Add that knowledge to the quest for life long learning and move on. Or, you can re-do the last project and apply new knowledge for a better result. That’s the choice, use education moving forward, or use it to […]

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TRAVEL GOALS FOR ASPIRATIONAL ADVENTURERS

June 10, 2021 by

Travel goals are more than just getting out of town. Let’s start there. More than changing surroundings, travel goals are so much more. Like what, then? Some are bigger than others, but they are all goals.

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MUSEUM QUALITY IS WHAT BOOMERS CALL THEIR ACCUMULATION

April 5, 2021 by

Museum quality is a collector’s goal. Leave the bad, take the good. Then what? If possession is nine tenths of the law, what’s the last tenth? After you’ve got what you’ve been looking for, put it in a box, on a shelf, in a case. The idea is to enjoy the company of an artifact, […]

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BREAKING THINGS IS EASIER THAN FIXING THINGS

October 14, 2020 by

Breaking costly things is part of adult life. We find something useful, and use it. And it breaks. Sometimes they break themselves. If it breaks, we fix it, or throw it away and buy an updated version. The proud and the brave say, “Not me, man. If something breaks, I try to fix it before […]

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