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OLD PORTLAND BECAME NEW PORTLAND RIGHT AFTER I MOVED THERE

The term Old Portland usually applies to the city with pictures of a flood, like the flood of 1861, or the floods of 1894, 1948, 1996. By the way, it rains in Oregon, sometimes a lot. Will that ever change? No, but attitudes will change, have changed. But that’s not the Old Portland on boomerpdx.

BOOMERPDX HALLOWEEN PARTY GUIDE

A Halloween party is more than chugging a twelve pack and handing out candy. First it’s too much sugar; you know you’ll dip into the candy bowl a few times. If you wear a costume this will happen: Scare little kids so much their parents talk about reporting you; older kids will be frightened into […]

COCKFOSTERS SOUNDS RIGHT IN LONDON AND PORTLAND

Young and old alike can look at a Northwest Portland neighborhood map and figure out the street naming theme. Ankeny, Burnside, Couch, Davis, Everett, Flanders, Glison, Hoyt, Irving, Johnson, and the rest of the alphabet. City planners must have taken the idea from the London Underground?

Portland Welcome Mat: How To Walk Around Downtown Portland

    One of the great things about sponsoring foreign exchange students after your own kids have been out of college for years is rolling out the welcome mat.   The Portland welcome mat. And dragging everyone possible along the Portland Trail.   My wagon train always starts with Saturday Market and the sort of […]

NO KITTY GENOVESE FOR YOU

Would an Oregonian save Kitty Genovese? A few years back a little boy in Portland, Oregon was accidentally left on a train platform. He made it home safely with his dad. A young woman stayed with him until his father returned, just a bystander who saw what happened and took time to care. Those few minutes ended happily; it […]

MORE PORTLAND PLEASE

    In a snap shot of urban life, Portland looks best in large format. Walking the northwest streets of The Pearl a few hours before the curtain rose inside The Armory showed a city with connections between the dots, enough dots to create the web of destination we read about all over the country. […]

BOOMERPDX WORLD IN WRITER TIGARD

    Like Mr. Trump, I own property. Unlike Mr. Trump, I don’t license property. Would I like to license property? Sure, who wouldn’t like the passive income of licensed property, until things go off the tracks.   Is boomerpdx a licensed property? Yes. Licensed to me, based on the internet rules of the game. […]

HOW TO INTERACT WITH RAJNEESH CULT MEMBERS ON PORTLAND STREETS

    Most days after work in the 80’s I walked the same way to my NW Portland apartment. The path took me past a place called the Martha Washington on SW 11th. I walked the same way so I could talk to an interesting woman from the museum.   Note to remember: All museum […]

PORTLAND FEVER: 1980-1990

    After walking around Manhattan and finding the perfect neighborhood, I wanted to find that neighborhood in Portland. When I did it started Portland fever.   Northwest Portland in late spring reminded me of Greenwich Village on a smaller scale. Like most everything compared to NYC, smaller is normal. Smaller buildings, smaller stores up […]

Walking Portland Memory Lane One Alley At A Time

As much as you hear about people moving to Portland, loving Portland once they get here, it’ll never be their home until they’re walking Portland on memory lane.   Like, “This is where I used to play basketball, where I got beat by a five foot six opponent,” didn’t ring up the oooos and ahs […]