Oregon Archives • BOOMERPDX

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BETTER LISTENING SKILLS FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING

June 16, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

If practicing better listening skills isn’t a life goal, it should be. How hard is it to pay attention? You did it in the classroom with the encouragement of a teacher. I still remember Mr. Kraus singing ‘Toot toot tootsie goodbye’ when he tossed little tootsie rolls to students with the right answer in algebra. […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, better understanding, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, brag, bragging, bro, education, good answer, grave robber, GUITAR, guitar player, history, listening, listening skills, North Bend, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, science, Social media, story, teacher, understanding, wife, writer, writers, writing

NBA CHAMPION CROWNED, AGAIN

June 14, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Becoming an NBA champion is a lifelong goal for every basketball player in the world. The best want to play the best, beat the best, to tell themselves they’re good enough. It’s that along with contracts and money and fame. All of that goes along the wayside when you stop playing in ninth grade like […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: BLAZERS, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, champion, fitness, history, millennials, NBA, nba champion, nba championship, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, Portland Trail Blazers, sports, story, Trail Blazers, writer, writers, writing

OFF THE HOOK IN GOLDEN YEARS?

June 8, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

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

END PRODUCT IS WHAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT, NOT PRACTICE

June 7, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

‘End Product’ is another way of saying, “What have you done lately?” We pay to go to concerts, games, and races. We don’t pay to go to practice rooms, weight rooms, or interval track training, the stuff done before the end product. Buy a ticket for an event and you expect a competent performance? Sounds […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, basketball court, being smart, being strong, better, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, Coos Bay, education, end, end product, keep practicing, marshfield high school, musical instruments, Oregon, organized noise, people care, practice, practicing, product, story, wife, writer, writers, writing

OPENING NIGHT AT THE ROSE GARDEN

June 4, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

I watched the Rose Garden, home to your Portland Trail Blazers, rise up on the Northeast bank of the mighty Willamette River. From opening night until now it’s been . . . thirty-one years? As long as the Memorial Coliseum stands, the Rose Garden will always be the new kid on the block. And now […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, BLAZERS, history, Michael Jordan, Moda Center, NBA, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Rose Garden, Portland Trail Blazers, Rose Garden, shonz, story, Trail Blazers, travel, twitter, wife, winner, winning, writer, writers, writing

RETIREMENT WARNINGS FOR BOOMERS IN THE FAST LANE

June 3, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

You’re in the fast lane and know it when you pull up on a Waymo car. Waymo has named the Rose City as one of the next locations welcoming its own fleet of self-driving vehicles. As part of the announcement, the company revealed it will start manually operating the cars on Tuesday to “help […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: acid dropping freaks, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blog, blogger, boomerpdx, cars, classic cars, fast lane, hippies, hobbies, life, MARRIAGE, married, mobility, Oldsmobile, Oregon, retire, retirement hobbies, retirement warnings, retirement window, retiring, the future, travel, Waymo, wife, writer, writers, writing

FENDER TELECASTER, MORE THAN A FEELING

May 31, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

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

BOOK BUYBACK AT POWELL’S BEAVERTON

May 30, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

A book buyback trip to Powell’s Beaverton store usually hurts my brain. This time was no exception. Ouch, my head. Out of four bankers boxes full of books this is the shot of what they bought back. Am I buying the wrong books?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, beaverton, book, book buyback, books, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, buying, buying books, education, history, learning, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, powell's, Powell's beaverton, reader, reading, reading books, story, wife, writer, writers, writing

LIFETIME MEMORIES FOR THE WHITE KNIGHT

May 29, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

The man in white has made more than a few lifetime memories for me. But why the white knight? Because he came to the rescue a few times.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, basketball, blessing, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, education, memory, North Bend, North Bend Oregon, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing

THE JOHN ROSSI PODCAST FROM MT. ANGEL

May 28, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

I drove down to Mt. Angel for the John Rossi Podcast yesterday. It began in Lou’s Kitchen. After watching video John posts on facebook from Lou’s, along with shots of food, I got excited to go. The reuben sandwich was especially enticing, so that’s what I got.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, choices, compelling narrative, John rossi, john rossi podcast, Lous kitchen, Love, mt. angel, museum, museum work, Oregon, podcast, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, research, rossi podcast, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing