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LUNAR NEW YEAR AND MORE IN PORTLAND

My small group of five went to the Lunar New Year Parade in downtown Portland. Yes, that Portland. If you’ve heard about it and wonder, it’s not a smoldering city rocked by insurrection. But it was rocking. After living in bigger cities where most people visit and leave, including Portland, I was thrilled to see […]

WE DON’T NEED NO EDUCATION, (FOR ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL)

From twitterX:   I get yelled at for saying this but for many hundreds of years people went to university not to get diplomas or be employable but because immersion in the humanities was considered foundational to a good life, and school must return to its original purpose: the joy of learning.   Doesn’t that […]

SITTING DOWN AND SHUTTING UP? OK BOOMER

As we’ve seen over the years, sitting down and shutting up is not a baby boomer characteristic. Never has been. No one has ever called us the Silent Generation, the Quiet Generation, or the Compliant Generation. We’ve been called a lot of things, just not those.

OREGON LAVA CAST FOREST ADVENTURE? LET’S GO

The Lava Cast Forest in Oregon is not for the weak of heart. I say this based on the traffic I encountered on the way in and on the way out. One car sat in the parking lot when we arrived, one car showed up as we left. Suspicious? Not much, but you never know.

DIVISION STREET, NOT DIVIDED PORTLAND

  Division Street is not some hotbed of urban problems with people taking sides. In the southeast 30’s it’s a home stretch for Portland people moving to Oregon. Even better, it’s been a neighborhood, a changing neighborhood, for people who put down roots decades ago.

FIGURE THINGS OUT BY WRITING THEM DOWN? OKAY BOOMER

Is it true you can figure things out by writing them down, or is there more to it? Who said, “I don’t know what I think until I write it down?” Who? Don’t panic, it was Joan Didion. I know questions make some people nervous. (Me) From National Public Radio:

DREAM STREET: 82ND AVENUE PORTLAND OREGON

  Dream street? 82nd Avenue? Somebody wake me up? No, it’s not a dream, but a street of dreams. And those dreams came to life.

SELF IMPROVEMENT IS THE BEST YOU CAN EXPECT?

Yes, self improvement is the best you can expect. What else would you want? If you make a mess and clean up after yourself? That’s improvement. Sounds easy enough.

CAREFUL PLANNING TAKES TIME

Planning, careful planning, is an essential element to all caring relationships. Especially the relationship you have with yourself, your inner-world with your inner-voice on a continuous narrative. ‘Let’s do this, then that, but this before that. And only on the weekend.’ What kind of a plan is that, a beer drinker’s weight loss plan? Nooooooo, […]

NON-VIOLENT REACTIONS TO VIOLENCE

Non-violent reactions are harder to work with once you’ve been on the receiving end of violence. But you must make a decision: Bring violence to violence, or stay true to your goal. If the goal is non-violence, and you get punched in the face, it’s a harder choice. For example: