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TRAGIC BOY FOR TRAGIC TIMES: VANKA

One tragic boy cannot stand in for all tragic children, but Anton Chekhov makes it happen. News of some kid with bad intentions gunning a classroom creates tragedy beyond believe. Again. Chekhov cuts to the quick with Vanka.

AGING MUSIC FOR COUPLES TO GROW OLD BY

I first heard aging music from the Beatles. When I’m Sixty-Four came out when I was thirteen. Why would a young band contemplate being 64 years old? It seemed weird. Until I turned sixty-four.

CLOUDY DAYS TAKE A SHORT BREAK

Cloudy days in Oregon? How can that be? Where I grew up no one complained about the rain. If they did that would have been all they talked about. There’s more going on than cloudy days, but what do you do when all you see are clouds?

BEST ADVICE FROM UNEXPECTED SOURCES

The best advice is words of wisdom from a trusted wise man, or wise woman. If that’s what you’re looking for, keep looking. You’ll find it, or give up trying. This is a post for just such quitters. Quitters who figured it out on their own.

WAITING FOR THE RIGHT TIME

My Dad was waiting for the right time to make better relationships just before he died. He was good with his boys, his one regret was his daughter. After his divorce from my Mom he expected changes. But he felt everything would straighten out in the long run.

OREGON PRIMARY LISTENING FOR MILLENNIAL ROAR

Tuesday is election day for the Oregon Primary. But you already knew that. No? Now you do. Out here in the real west, not some landlocked desert version of ‘out west’ in states like Idaho, or Utah, or Arizona, we drag ourselves to the table, pick up a black or blue ink pen, open the […]

MAN JUNK FOR THE HE-MAN

Man junk is a taboo topic to bring up. Especially broken junk. Vasectomy? Same thing. It cuts a little too close to home. HPV neck cancer? Hush your mouth. Or not. Yesterday I wrote about vasectomy, which some men consider less than manly. Today, let’s take it a little further.

ADDITIONAL PROOF? HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH

Additional proof is what’s needed to make an official arrest. Can we all agree on that? No one wants a guilty conviction based on one finger pointer. So, what is additional proof?

FINISHED WORK WITH SENATOR RON JOHNSON

Finished work leaves a feeling of permanence. And isn’t that the idea, locked in for the long haul. What do you do after you finish something? What’s next? Maintenance. But first, about that finished work.

WHO CARES? YOU CAN LEARN WHO

Who cares about others is a big mystery most of the time, but peeling back the layers shows who’s who. Leaders, the people voted to lead, are elected to care. Isn’t that the idea? When a state like Kentucky puts up winners like U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, you might wonder if there’s […]