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NATIONAL PRIDE FROM THE BACK ROW

January 29, 2026 by David Gillaspie

The idea of national pride usually comes from where you were brought up, and who raised you. My sense of things comes from growing up in small town America, raised by parents who came from even smaller towns. The sophisticate in the family was Grandma, who grew up in Dallas, Texas, graduated high school as […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: academic, America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blogger, boomerpdx, education, facebook, Great Depression, IQ, learning, Love, national, national pride, parents, personal pride, pride, proudest parents, public education, scholarship, sorority, sorority sister, story, teacher, twitter, write, writer, writers, writing, WWII, young adults

THREATENING PARENTS FOR KID’S BEHAVIOR? WHAT’S NEXT

August 23, 2025 by David Gillaspie

I saw a clip of the masked men of Immigration and Customs Enforcement threatening parents to convince someone behind the locked door of a barber shop to open up. Agent: “I’m going to go get your dad—and I’m going to get your mom!” Witness: “Y’all can’t tell him that, though. His mom?” Agent: “Yes […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: behavior, combat, Dad, devastating attack, dmv, dmv manager, due process, face, gunned down, injustice of war, kidnapper, kids, Korean War, Marine Corps, marine wife, Marines, Mom, parents, permanent record, policy, Rasputin, reality TV, reality tv star, red flag, threatening, threatening parents, veteran, war, what's next, wife

HUMAN PROJECT OF YOU

August 16, 2025 by David Gillaspie

A human project is easy to find. They’re all around because everyone is a project in some stage of completion. The secret? It’s never complete, but there are signs of progress.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, better performance, BOOMER, future, good times, grace, granddad, helpful, human, human project, husband, joyfully, kids, Kurt Vonnegut, memory, Moana, movie night, nice, normal, parents, remember, sharing, Social media, today is the day, wife, work in progress

PLANNED IGNORANCE? NOT SO FAST

August 1, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Planned ignorance is not a plan for everyone. Parents who complain about teachers when little Jimmy gets a bad report card? It’s not Jimmy’s fault and don’t you dare say it is; don’t even think it. And it’s not the parents’ fault. Just ask them. Better yet, check with parents whose kids are just starting. […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: big picture, brain development, careful parent, daycare, developing brain, high tuition, higher education, kids, learning envirnoment, NW Portland, Oregon, parents, plan, planned, planned ignorance, Portland, SE Portland, Southern Oregon, study hall, tuition, world events, young minds, young parents

BIRTHDAY WEEK WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE

June 25, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Birthday Week is not a request, you just take it: You: This is my birthday week. Them: Really? Your mother had that long of labor? You: More or less. Them: If that’s the case I’d have a birthday hour.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, birthday, birthday evening, birthday week, birthday year, BOOMER, china, common bonds, married, Michelin star, northwest, parents, planned cities, Portland, potlatch, reserves, Shanghai, smart cities, urbanization, world travel, young parents

MARATHON FAMILY MATTERS

June 17, 2025 by David Gillaspie

This is my marathon family. We all lived in Seaside at the time. I couldn’t tell you any of their names because I don’t know them. But they’re still family, temporary family.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: aspirations, athletic ability, divorced, dreams, family, family life, goal, marathon, marathon family, marathon man, parents, permanent family, real family, relationship, runner, temporary family

EMBRACING CHANGE, BUT NOT TOO TIGHT

May 18, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Embracing change is all there is to do when something new pops up. Either that or get miserable and bitter. Go with the flow or drown fighting the current. If you think this sounds like being a quitter, well . . .

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: athletes, big difference, cancer, change, cigarettes, coaches, community, difference, embracing change, fitness, fitness guys, game, hero, high school, lung cancer, money, parents, quitter, smoking, sports, teachers, team, weight lifting

BOOMMATES IS A THING?

May 1, 2025 by David Gillaspie

‘Boommates’ is a new translation for roommates, which is kind of catchy. But is it the new kind of new, or a recycle job, after all we did grow up with the Odd Couple. The movie came out in 1968.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, BOOMER, boomer blogger, Boomer Roomer, boomer roomers, boomerpdx, boomers, boommates, Divorce, divorced, friendship, history, hot mommas, life, MARRIAGE, married, memories, odd couple, old boyfriend, old girlfriend, online search, parents, story, wedding anniversary, wife, writer, writing

GETTING READY TO GET READY, THEN WHAT

March 9, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Are baby boomers getting ready? They’ve been getting ready all their life. The boomer baby is continually shown as a rebel, a kid who grew up with a pledge to ‘not be like our parents.’ It was fine until one day we became parents. It was fine until we got all the left-overs.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, BOOMER, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, childhood, education, educational value, get ready, getting ready, history, history museum, murdered, parents, travel, writer, writers, writing

BOOMER VISION: WHAT WE SEE, WHAT THEY THINK WE SEE

February 27, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Boomer Vision is a ‘thing,’ or it should be. Butch Cassidy said it with, “I’ve got vision, the rest of the world wears bi-focals.” The only way baby boomers don’t have vision? They keep their eyes wide shut.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, Better Boomer, better vision, blog, blogger, BOOMER, boomer blogger, boomer generation, boomer vision, detached, good listener, GUITAR, helpful, imminent doom, isolated, kids, listener, lost, millennials, out of touch, parents, school, tax, taxes