page contents Google

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:

GOOD FORTUNE: ACCIDENTAL OR PLANNED

My happy good fortune could never be planned any more than a shark chooses their favorite remora. It’s all been a long string of happy coincidence. Just another fat baby boomer taking up space in comfort and luxury. That’s me. How about you, same thing? Probably not, but check with younger people to know for […]

THE PORTLAND DIFFERENCE: URBAN FEAR

The Portland difference means telling yourself one urban space is different than another. How can anyone make such a judgement? There’s only one way: wander around urban spaces both new and old. From London to Paris, more like Paris to London; from Philadelphia to New York City, which most people think is only Manhattan without […]

DIFFERENT TIME, DIFFERENT PLACE

The past is a different place, different yet familiar. Maybe too familiar? Familiar like you remember it now differently than you used to remember? Here’s how I remember it:

AWARD WINNING TAKES PRACTICE

If you’ve never had an award winning experience, keep reading. After all of the training and expectations and worry you somehow win. What happens next? Disbelief. How did it happens? You know but still don’t believe it. Then it’s on to the next thing, the next big deal, but the feeling remains:

NORTHWEST LOVEJOY, PORTLAND OREGON

Northwest Lovejoy is where my current life began. That’s where I met my wife to be. She was walking up the sidewalk in a blue summer dress. I was talking to a new guy in the neighborhood who turned out to be her boyfriend. It was an auspicious beginning; I met a lot of people […]

PORTLAND REVIEW FROM I-5 SOUTH IN THE BACKSEAT

  Portland review coming off 84 toward the Burnside Bridge.