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BE DIFFERENT, BUT HOW DIFFERENT

December 24, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Be different, be better, be something. Just not the old coot where every day is the ol’ same ol’. It’s not the same, day after day, and neither are you no matter how you try. Why not be stable and dependable? That’s different enough.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: agreeable, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, be dependable, be different, be stable, behavior, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, different, Divorce, drifter, family, fitness, gut, gut feeling, history, leeway, loyalty, normal, normal behavior, silver anniversary, unconcerned, wife, writer, writers, writing

NORMAL HUMAN NEEDS. NORMAL?

December 16, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Normal human needs seem pretty obvious? They aren’t much different than the other animals in the jungle. Air to breath. Clean water, shelter, clothing. The basics.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: actors, America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, better country, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, celebrities, Death, education, finding purpose, guilt trip, historical community, historical garb, historical gathering, human needs, JFK, kids, lbj, life direction, millennials, murder, murderer, normal, normal human needs, Oregon, pioneer women, roles, story, wife, writer, writers, writing

NOBODY FROM NOWHERE? SO FAR SO GOOD

December 5, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Some people lament being a nobody from nowhere. Not me. I’ve heard enough big shots complaining about their loss of privacy to the point of living like a shut-in. “I used to be able to go out with no one noticing. Now every time I leave the house is a big event.” Who wants to […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, be there, blogger, boomer blogger, business, dressing room, education, history, margaritas, mexican food, museum, museum business, nobody, nobody from nowhere, normal, nowhere, Portland, Portland Oregon, stories, strip club, the masses, timelines, want more, writer, writing

RESTFUL SLEEP FOR BETTER DAYS

October 10, 2025 by David Gillaspie

For those who wonder about the benefit of restful sleep, stay up a little longer and keep reading. If you’re not on schedule for a solid eight hours of sleep, with power naps mixed in, keep reading. There is something keeping you up, something you can’t put your finger on, or step on, but what? […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Afghanistan, Army, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, better day, blog, blogger, calm down, chain of command, china, dismissed, education, history, illegal orders, Iraq, Korea, lawful orders, learning, Marines, mental, military, military mindset, mindset, narrator, normal, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, Power Nap, rest, restful, restful sleep, senior citizens, sleep, story, stressful, turbulent times, unreliable narrator, Vietnam, woke, writer

HUMAN PROJECT OF YOU

August 16, 2025 by David Gillaspie

A human project is easy to find. They’re all around because everyone is a project in some stage of completion. The secret? It’s never complete, but there are signs of progress.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, better performance, BOOMER, future, good times, grace, granddad, helpful, human, human project, husband, joyfully, kids, Kurt Vonnegut, memory, Moana, movie night, nice, normal, parents, remember, sharing, Social media, today is the day, wife, work in progress

LIVING THAT NEW LIFE

September 3, 2024 by David Gillaspie

A new life is more than losing weight and getting a tan. More than new shoes and low socks. More than a gold chain and a green neck. What’s the new life deal this time?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: antique, antique furniture, designer, education, expensive, expensive education, fashion, fond memories, furniture, life together, married, meth house, mid-century modern, move, moving, new life, normal, office, one question, organize, remodeling, reorganize, style, theme furniture, very expensive

BACKING UP AND ADDING ON

August 26, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Backing up into a parking space is normal? It’s getting that way, but there’re still holdouts. – People who always back into to parking spaces think they better than us. – I back into my parking space in the garage and the garage is inclined up…I also do it with a manual transmission car, […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: action, admiration, adversity, advice, back up, backing up, car, Costco, direct action, documentary, driving, honor, mfa, new yorker, normal, novel, parking space, plan, planning, real talk, shit talk, that's not right, trust, WWII, WWII documentary

MUNDANE LIFE? CONGRATULATIONS

May 6, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Fear the mundane life, or celebrate the accomplishment? The more the pace of life speeds up, and you don’t, the more your effort shines. Who knew normal and ordinary could feel so good? But there’s a problem. Not everyone gets it.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: accomplishment, beaverton, cancer industry, cancer related, cancer treatment, celebrate, coaches, criminal kingpin, famous, fear, good life, kids, life goal, memory, mundane life, normal, North Bend, ordinary, ordinary people, practice, remembers for, serious people, sports, the Beatles, Tigard, wife, world stage

SETTLED RULES = LAW OF THE LAND

March 31, 2024 by David Gillaspie

When settled rules are ignored they get angry. Common courtesy wants to fight. Good manners want a go in the octagon. Eventually things calm down in what I understand is called ‘normalized’, as in: The New Normal.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: blue jeans, cancer cells, coal fired power, college degree, common courtesy, democracy, educated people, good manners, law of the land, laws, marathon, modern world, national champion, new normal, normal, rules, running, scoreboard, settled rules, shared world, small town, social body, sports, wife

LIFE LESSONS: FIRST DO NO HARM

December 6, 2023 by David Gillaspie

Life lessons start early and never stop. But, and this is a tough one, people do look away. “But Blogger D, aren’t older people a repository of life lessons?” Not always, but who am I to judge? If you need to ask, this might not be the place for you.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, Army, army medic, blogger, boomerpdx, caduceus, college, David Gillaspie, do no harm, education, English translation, germany, harm, history, japan, Kurt Vonnegut, latin, life, life lesson, life lessons, MARRIAGE, medical school, mental health, no harm, normal, not normal, writer, writers, writing, WWII