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MICHAEL BECKER WALKS WITH PURPOSE

December 5, 2017 by

I like people who channel their problems constructively. They’re effective in making me feel like the whiner I’ve always taken pride in.   Michael Becker channels his problems constructively, and he’s a big boost. I found him in a search of cancer memoirs. We’ve exchanged pleasant emails. Have I told him I’m scouting for my […]

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CANCER MEMOIR FROM SMART GUY WITH HPV CANCER, AND IT’S NOT ME

December 3, 2017 by

  Michael D. Becker wrote his cancer memoir titled ‘A Walk With Purpose.’   By all accounts he’s lived a life with purpose, so the walking with purpose stuff is expected. He walks with purpose, so do you.   So do I. We all walk with purpose. If not we’re just wandering around aimless, without […]

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CANCER STORIES: FEEDING PUBLIC FEAR AND PRIVATE WOE

December 1, 2017 by

Things you’ll never know until you get cancer, any cancer:   You’ll either be an object of sympathy, or an antenna of sympathy. Or both.   “Keep up the fight,” or, “You’re a fighter,” or “You look like you’ve got this thing whipped.”   That’s what I heard after running Hood To Coast at 49 […]

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PORTLAND BLOGS: TOP TEN ACCORDING TO RANKER.COM

November 18, 2017 by

    What’s it take to make the top ten list of Portland blogs. If you read ranker.com, the answer is be a newspaper since Willamette Week and The Portland Mercury top the the list at #1 and #2.   I’m not complaining that newspapers and blogs shouldn’t be compared but if it was my […]

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AUTUMN LEAVES, AUTUMN DOGS, BEST TIME OF YEAR

November 15, 2017 by

    How often do dogs change my day? Every day.   And it’s not always my dog.   A walk on a trail, a lady with two frisky hounds, and it’s a lively moment.   Just two middle aged people on a hillside in the wilderness. Sharing the wonder of it all.   Autumn […]

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John Grisham Novel Camino Island Includes Portland State And A Portland Story Idea

September 28, 2017 by

I was cruising Costco and in between food samples of tangy chicken, yogurt drinks, and a new pasta, rolled through the book aisle.   There’s something magic about stacks of books in a big box store. If you’ve got a book on the table you’re a real writer? You’ve arrived? Or is it something worse? […]

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Japanese Exchange Student A Perfect Portland Fit

September 23, 2017 by

    What’s better than traveling to new places and meeting the locals? Being the locals and meeting travelers. A Japanese exchange student proved the rule this summer.   With kids out of high school and college you’d think a couple of empty nest boomers would enjoy themselves with the usual things baby boomers get […]

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Portland Hearts Beat On Broadway, The Rest Of The City Keeps Time

August 31, 2017 by

  Portland hearts come in all shapes and sizes, all conditions and configurations. Like Portland, one size doesn’t fit all. Some arrive overwhelmed by the bigness of the big city. Buildings so tall and shiny dwarf pedestrians used to their own town. Try explaining Portland size in relation to the big big cities. Drop it […]

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Air Oregon My Oregon Paradise West Of Cascades

August 27, 2017 by

      For a moment let’s skip the romanticized view of the state. The brown patches across these images are clear cut lumber sections, replanted with more trees. Why are they brown? It’s not because of brown trees. Air Oregon shows too much.   Oregon, My Oregon via Oregon Blue Book, music by Henry […]

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Portland Italian Festival, Portland Haute Couture

August 25, 2017 by

    Not Little Italy, but Big Italy, Portland’s Italian Festival swinging in the biggest living room in Oregon, Pioneer Square.   Food, beer, and music mix to show the city in the best light possible, like an Italian chandelier.   Is it fun? Educational? Mesmerizing? All of that along with beautiful Italian women in […]

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