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DARK MOON RISING

The dark moon hit my eye last night in Portland, Oregon. Tucked away on the 14th floor near the Willamette River with friends and drinks, I interrupted everything for a special announcement: “I see a bad moon rising.” It looked huge, this moonrise, and kept getting bigger and more interesting. What’s not to like about […]

FLOWER CHILDREN? HECK YEAH FOR A HAPPY DAY

Heads up to all flower children: Swan Island Dahlias in Canby, Oregon are still in bloom. If you missed the cherry blossoms, the roses in the Rose Garden in Washington Park, the iris bloom, sunflowers, and any others, this is your place. It’s well groomed, thought out, and accessible. No matter your age or disability, […]

FRESH AIR MAKES PEOPLE PEOPLE HUNGRY?

If you’re looking for fresh air, and who isn’t, you’ll find it in abundance at your local nursery where acres of plants release oxygen. It may not feel, or look, like an oxygen tent, and you’re not a patient, but it does wonders. If it’s not the air that dazzles you, it’s the colorful blossoms, […]

MISSING PORTLAND FOUND

I asked Big Paul about missing Portland and he set me straight. “It’s not missing.” “It is if you can’t find it.” “Then you need to look harder.”

BEST LAID PLANS OFTEN GO AWRY

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 […]

MATTRESS SHOPPING + BABY BOOMER = MARRIAGE COUNSELING

Go mattress shopping and expect to find more than a mattress. Like what? The outstanding feature to me is meeting people who quote $20,000 for a new bed. Sound normal to you? Not to me, and here’s why:

DESCRIPTIVE TITLES ARE NOT ADMISSIONS OF GUILT

  If some well known celebrity shows up on a screen, any screen, talking about drug addiction, mental health, and suicide, they’re not talking about themselves. Instead, they’re using their recognition, their acclaim, and their name-fame, to get a message across to a broader audience. Why do they bother with adding their feelings? Because they […]

HOW TO BUSY SATURDAY AUGUST 8, 2026

Focus on a busy Saturday starts Friday night. I’m looking at you, baby boomer: Go to bed early Friday night and get up refreshed and enthusiastic, instead of hungover and droopy. No one needs to see that beyond the mirror, and your spouse. Get up early, hustle through the routine, and get out the door. […]

FROM CENTRAL OREGON SMOKE TO PORTLAND AIR

To anyone who has gone over the mountain from the valley to Central Oregon, this is the last thing you ever want to see. It’s forest fire smoke, brush fire smoke, doing its scorched earth best to show the power of fire. Not fire-power, the sort of thing you can start and end, but Mother […]