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PORTLAND PARK BLOCKS IN DECEMBER WITH DOG

The Portland Park Blocks, the south side, deserves a good look this time of year. Call it a learning moment, my dog did. Who’s a good girl. We started at Portland State University to see what the youths were up to.

OLD STORY? THEY’RE ALL OLD STORIES THE OLDER YOU GET

An old story wears thin over time? Not when it’s your story, no matter how many times you tell it. When you hear, “I’ve heard this so many times,” don’t take it as criticism. That’s just someone bragging about their listening skills, not trashing your repetitiveness. Still, why not add something new?

LIFE WRITING RULES

Rules for life writing: Get a life. Pay attention. Find a favorable form. Then what?

ON VETERANS DAY 2024

Veterans Day is for the old folks who remember their youth and those who were young with them. They remember the young people who didn’t have the chance to get old. My Dad got a chance to get old. He out-lived his Dad, just like I’m out-living him.

OPB PEOPLE IN BEAVERTON’S RESER

OPB people gathered Thursday night for a radio show at The Reser in Beaverton. Maybe it’s the same crowd for every Live Wire show, but I don’t know. I’ve been to one other on Portland’s Eastside and both had one thing in common: Old people who know how to have a laugh.

PERMANENT BUILDINGS FOR THE FUTURE

I look for permanent buildings the older I get. It’s always a treat. I’m older than the town I live in, older than the first house I owned, older than where I live mow. Maybe I’m the permanent building? Naw. Maybe you?

PORTLAND HISTORY COMEBACK JUST IN TIME

Portland history used to be easy. Two old guys flipped a coin in a clearing and here we are living happily ever after. That’s my story, but I’m not sticking to it when I tell the Portland story.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT BURGER?

A great burger is a matter of timing. If you haven’t eaten all day anything would be great. That last thing you ate was a little off so you’ve been looking forward to the next meal. This burger fought through adversity to land on greatness.

DOWNTOWN PORTLAND OREGON ON A FAMILY SATURDAY NIGHT

Traveling to downtown Portland for a visit, for a look-around? But you’ve seen the news, the tents, the drugs, the crime. So have I. It’s a red flag, but not this time. We took a chance to claim, or reclaim, the Rose City as our own.

LAST ROOM AT THE END OF THE LINE

The last room of a six stop roadie through England is the most expensive per square foot. It’s an impressive number due to the square feet. The smallest of the six, it’s on Bayswater, a half a block from the Notting Hill Gate into Hyde Park. Queen-sized bed in a queen-size bed slot tight enough […]