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GUITAR NIGHT STARTER PACK

August 21, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

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 Leave a Comment

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 Leave a Comment

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

BEST LAID PLANS OFTEN GO AWRY

August 16, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

This is what I like to tell people: the best laid plans often to awry. At least that’s what I’d tell them if they asked. No one has really asked, but I’ve heard talk that sounded like complaining, which deserves a solid answer. You had plans? Well, now you know, the best laid plans often […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, beer, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, education, gear, GUITAR, guitar player, history, jam, jamming, looper, Love, married, millennials, music, music jam, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, sober Saturday, Social media, stay sharp, story, sweat, travel, twitter, wife, write, writer, writers, writing

THE GREEN BOOK MOVIE REVIEW

August 13, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

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

AGING ALONG WITH QUINCY JONES, BILL RUSSELL, AND JERRY JONES

August 12, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Time goes on and we’re aging along and it’s still hurry, hurry, hurry? If you need to ask if it’s necessary, the answer is YES. But, maybe it’s just me? For better answers I watched documentaries about three men in their eighties.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: aging, aging along, alcohol, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, bill russell, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, celtics, cowboys, education, facebook, history, ideas, music, Quincy jones, sadness, Social media, twitter, writer, writers, writing

THE BIGGER WORLD AT YOUR DOORSTEP

July 26, 2026 by David Gillaspie

With the question in my last post answered so soundly, I think I’m on a roll to solve problems, shed light in the darkness, and make the world a better place for others to roam freely. Just between us, how does this work? My wife. Marry the right woman and the clouds part, the sun shines, […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, bigger world, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, education, find food, fitness, food, food bank, food for all Oregonians, food shortage, history, hunger, learning, married, mend, millennials, money, music, Oregon, oregonians, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, reddit, Social media, story, travel, writer, writers, writing

NAME RECOGNITION IN AMERICA EXPLAINED, TO BE OR NOT

July 8, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Two nights ago I watched Hamnet from the blue velvet couch. It’s about Shakespeare, which isn’t a spoiler. At least it shouldn’t be. With one of the more helpful movie openings, it explained that Hamnet and Hamet are the same name. The same. So I was set. Hamnet it is?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: belgium, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, college, denmark, education, family, feeling, Florsheim shoes, france, german, hippies, learning, Love, millennials, music, Oregon, paella, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, problems, Shakespeare, social change, Social media, Spain, spanish rice, story, travel, twitter, Vietnam War, wife, writer, writers, writing

OFF THE HOOK IN GOLDEN YEARS?

June 8, 2026 by David Gillaspie

As the golden years of retirement stretch out before you there are a few things to keep in mind. Probably more than ten line items, but this is a start. You don’t have to agree with any of them, but pick and choose in any order. I’ll start:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, cooking, education, family, fitness, food, GOLDEN YEARS, history, kids, kitchen, learning, married, mental stimulation, millennials, music, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, recipe, relax, social interaction, Social media, sports, story, twitter, volunteer, wife, workout, writer, writers, writing

FENDER TELECASTER, MORE THAN A FEELING

May 31, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Playing notes and chords on a Fender Telecaster is an act of history. Even more if it’s a butterscotch Tele. Why? Because it has a legacy. It’s an historical artifact, a throwback, brought up to date every year. Playing one puts you in the legacy no matter how long, whether from 1950 to yesterday. But […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: boomer blogger, boomerpdx, dreams, family, fender, fender guitar, fender telecaster, historical legacy, history, hopes, kids, legacy, MARRIAGE, millennials, music, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, story, telecaster, telecaster guitar, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing