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CHILDREN LEARN BY EXAMPLE SO TEACH THEM WELL

Children learn by looking to their elders for clues. Elders don’t always remember the clues when they’re too busy feeling forgotten.  But, there are reminders.   You, who are on the roadMust have a code you try to live byAnd so become yourselfBecause the past is just a goodbye

BARONIAL BEAVERTON TODAY

Last night marked a farewell to Baronial Beaverton, a home of dreams and vision. The first time I walked in I knew something was different. I didn’t make a fuss over the awe-inspiring place right off the bat, but now? I doubt I’ll see anything like it again.

COMMUNITY STORYTELLING: U.S. ARMY 1974-1976

The definition of community for Community Storytelling from Oregon Humanities:   When we say “community,” we mean any group of people who share a common experience thanks to where they live, the language they speak, their race, their religion, their age, or some other attribute. When we say “storytelling,” we mean nonfiction stories conveyed through […]

MEET THE NEW BOSS, SAME AS THE OLD BOSS

The new boss comes in to change things, to do what the old boss couldn’t do. Whether it’s changing the order of operations, the culture, or cutting expenses, it’s a job someone has to do. If you’ve worked in a place during the transition from the old ways to new, you know what happens: People […]

THE OTHER PORTLAND OREGON

The other Portland once had a reputation as a place for rich hippies to retire young and send their kids to Reed College. If that was the 70’s those kids might be fifty or sixty years old; thirty or forty if they started a family late, or decided to have more than one family. Since […]

TRY ME? EVERY FATHER’S HOPE

“I’ve got three boys,” a former football star said. “I’ve got to stay in shape because they’re going to try me.” Try me? Do we all know what that means? Probably not if you didn’t try your Dad. But you did. Right? You did? How did that work out for you? How does it ever […]

START THE HARDEST PART FIRST: BEER CULTURE

Doing the hardest part of anything is not the opposite of doing the easy part. The easy part serves as a warm-up? Sometimes. But, do that and you might be too tired for the next part, which is also not the hardest. Like what? Take drinking beer for example. I live in a beer town, […]

MUTUAL INTEREST FOR THE LONG HAUL

Start with mutual interest, something you both like. In the beginning every new discovery is a happy revelation.   “You know how to cook? So do I.” “What’s this?” “Dinner.” “Oh.”

MELANCHOLY NOSTALGIA? WHERE DO I SIGN

Melancholy nostalgia is no one’s idea of a good time. Nostalgia alone is more than enough. Those ‘good old days’ never looked better until you start scratching around. Add a dose of melancholy to clear things up.

LOOKING BACK TO SEE IF YOU WERE LOOKING

I was looking back recently after hearing how great things used to be. Baby boomers had it so easy you could buy a house and two cars and a boat and send three kids to college on a part-time paper route for a weekly publication. As a result the entire generation grew lazy and complacent: