Oregon Coast Archives • BOOMERPDX

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NORTH BEND HEROES START HERE

May 6, 2026 by David Gillaspie 1 Comment

Calling North Bend a small town is a disservice to real small towns everywhere. Driving south on 101 and crossing the North Bend Bridge takes you under this sign. If you’re not paying close attention and keep going the same direction, the entire area of the largest metro complex on the Oregon coast feels like […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, Coos Bay, davidpdx, family, high school wrestling team, history, married, memory, North Bend, North Bend Bulldogs, Oregon, Oregon Coast, remember, state champion, still alive, the future, travel, wife, working, wrestling, wrestling team, writer, writing

WATCHING NEWS, KEEPING CURRENT

April 28, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

We’ve been watching news, keeping an eye on things, staying current. Nothing gets by us. With a pump in a water-tank, we find the flow. My school friends and I all believe a water pump in our tank is an essential service. It’s a big part of what keeps us alive and thriving, that and […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, blogger, boomerpdx, controlled society, davidpdx, experience, fitness, flow, free willy, freedom, healthcare, healthy, Keiko, newport oregon, news, Oregon, Oregon Coast, science, story, travel, watching news, writer, writers, writing

NORTH BEND IN THE OREGON HISTORY CENTER

March 10, 2026 by David Gillaspie

This is North Bend in 1940. Something is missing, though. I-5 is missing, but there’s something else. These baby boomers and their memory, you never know what you’re getting.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blogger, book, boomerpdx, boomers, family, hwy 101, kids, memory, museums, north bend bridge, North Bend Oregon, Oregon, Oregon Coast, oregon historial society, Oregon History, story

OLD YEAR, NEW YEAR, GOODYEAR

December 31, 2024 by David Gillaspie

With the old year out, the new year in, why not plan a road trip on a set of Goodyears? What else sounds better than Goodyear? A new year deserves a slice of goodness to balance what comes next. But that’s still to come.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: balance, Cannon Beach, complaining, depoe bay, goodyear, law and order, law and order SVU, new year, newport, next year, ocean, old year, Oregon Coast, sea, stick around, threat, tsunami, wwi, WWII, year

KOLOA SURPRISES KEEP HAPPENING? YES THEY DO

March 19, 2023 by David Gillaspie

Koloa surprises are different than the usual Hawaiian happiness? As if Kauai island needs more to keep it interesting. No snakes, gators, or bugs are all a welcome surprise. But there’s more.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: family travel, Hawaii, hawaiian happiness, kauai, kauai island, koloa, koloa surprises, North Bend Oregon, Oregon, Oregon Coast, port orford, provincialism, travel, traveling, welcome surprise

DIALECT STORIES TOLD IN TONGUES

January 24, 2023 by David Gillaspie

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?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomers, BOOMER, boomerpdx, boomers, charisma, dialect, dialect stories, Mark Twain, museum, museum cataloguer, Oregon Coast, role model, stories

COLLEGE DANCE IN HIGH SCHOOL, 1972

November 28, 2022 by David Gillaspie

A college dance had a special allure to high school kids. We were high school homers in 1972; the college was Southwestern Oregon Community College, or: SWOCC. The campus was in Coos Bay, Oregon, a city of mystery and sawdust. I’d never been to a college dance, but I was a high school junior and […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: blogger, boomerpdx, college dance, Coos Bay, dance, empty win, friends, good graces, honesty, North Bend, Oregon Coast, parental approval, parents, personal victory, red jumpsuit, stronger people, SWOCC, truth, vexing problem

OREGON WEED: STATE REVIEW

September 12, 2022 by David Gillaspie

Oregon weed is sold legally throughout the state. Does that sound right to baby boomers? A comfort? Yes, weed is legally sold in Oregon, with a load of stores in Portland, Oregon.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomers, boomerpdx, cancer, cancer patient, Center For Disease Control, drug addiction, harvard health, legal weed, marijuana, medical marijuana, medicine, opioids., Oregon, Oregon Coast, oregon weed, oxy, pain, pain control, pain management, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, surgery, weed

LEAVING PORTLAND IN 1974

September 8, 2022 by David Gillaspie

Leaving Portland in 1974 was quite memorable. Memorable departures usually have a location in mind. I was headed to Fort Ord, California and the All-Volunteer Army on September 6, 1974. What was I thinking?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: army induction, beaverton, blogger, boomerpdx, college wrestling, Coos Bay, gresham, multnomah village, NW Portland, Oregon, Oregon Coast, Peters Inn, Portland, portland hilton, Portland Oregon, Tigard

LIVING TOGETHER, DYING TOGETHER, RIDING THE WAVE

August 28, 2022 by David Gillaspie

Living together doesn’t always mean living under the same roof. The same goes for dying together. When we lose someone close, we lose a little bit of ourselves. But we never lose the shared memories. This is one of them:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Coos Bay, depoe bay, legacy, life celebration, life plans, life span, lincoln City, living together, memorial, Oregon Coast, sharing, sister