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LEARNING FROM WHERE YOU LIVE, PT.1: NORTH BEND

    Ask the North Bend question. In a reflective moment that soon passed, I asked my Dad which of us grew up in a rougher town. I felt certain he’d say his town, Ryderwood. Ryderwood was a logging camp town, a company town with a company store. The one thing all logging company towns […]

OKAY IT’S BROKEN TREATIES, BUT WE’RE STILL KEEPING THE LAND

Watching Broken Treaties on Oregon Public Broadcasting tonight? It’s no bedtime story. Too often we live in a bubble. Not much gets in and most of what we see is our own reflection. It’s not an ideal way of life, more a goal. Then the bubble pops and things change, like you’ve got things to […]

LEARNING TO LEARN PORTLAND BIG AND SMALL

  Life long learners need classes to learn Portland?   A New York man moved to Portland in his fifties. He returns to The City every year to find something new. “Just walk around the financial district in lower Manhattan and you can read the history of the area on the sidewalk,” he said. “I […]

MAN ANTHEM: COMMITMENT TO YOUR WOMAN, FAITH IN YOUR MAN

    Women looking for THE ONE need to apply the Man Anthem Test.   The notion of one Man Anthem, and only one, goes against the grain on most sites. The Good Men Project listed ten, as in top ten Man Anthems, with Queen’s We Are The Champions at #1. While I love the […]

THE NBA EXPERIENCE WITH PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

    Top shelf athletics, like the NBA and Portland Trail Blazers, are a study in marketing. More than wins and losses, the NBA Experience draws the crowd. Except the crowd doesn’t know this at first. True fans show up and buy tickets to watch a game played better than anywhere in the world they’ve […]

OREGON CHOICE: RAJNEESHEES OR BUNDY OCCUPATION

  Do guns play the biggest part in this Oregon Choice? There’s a big difference between an event that draws horny dreamers and an event that attracts an armed militia. Which one attracts you? Would you rather hang out in loose fitting orange and red clothes waving to a holy man passing by in a […]

ALL DOGS MATTER, NORTH BEND BULLDOGS MATTER MORE

  Of all mascots, North Bend Bulldogs rise to the top.   You probably heard this before? “You may forget names and faces, but you’ll never forget how you felt being there.” North Bend is where the ‘there’ is. It started early. Those lucky enough to finish their primary and secondary education in one place […]

OREGON’S BIRTHDAY: WHAT YOU MISSED AT 158

  If you skip Oregon’s Birthday party, you’ll never know Oregon.   You read the same stories from around the country. People matching their vibe to a location show up in Portland. Families planning a big move, choosing between ten cities, come to Oregon because Portland checked all the right boxes. Students enroll in colleges […]

MONICA DRAKE: PORTLAND AUTHOR, DETECTIVE, DELIGHT

    Tell me a better Oregon name than Monica Drake, then show me a better story collection.   Oregon Ducks and Monica Drake? Perfect combination. Oregon State Beavers and Monica Nutria? Not so much. In her short story collection, The Folly Of Loving Life, Monica Drake gives TRUTH to this writers’ advice: Only write […]

PORTLAND SUCKS? TELL US MORE ABOUT THOSE FEELINGS

Say Portland sucks and you might be right, but why ruin it for the rest of us.   If Portland sucks for you, that may be just the tip of your iceberg. Blame the city for what? Your attitude, your entitlement, your butt-hurt life? Why not? You don’t know what you want and it bugs […]