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THROWBACK NIGHT: PORTLAND WINTER LIGHT FESTIVAL

February 16, 2025 by

Throwback night started in Smart Park on SW 3rd and Yamhill. After my wife and I thought hard about going to the Portland Winter Light Festival, even if it’s raining, we launched the White Cloud Toyota down the highway. Since the festival shined brightest in the dark, as light does, it was dark pulling up […]

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ATTENTION SPAN DEBATE ON VALENTINES’S DAY: WHAT?

February 14, 2025 by

A short attention span is normal? Older people like to joke about going into another room for some reason they can’t remember. It happens all the time, but there’s a hack: You have to stay in the room until you remember. That’s Michael Corleone wishing brother Fredo well.

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PERMANENT BUILDINGS FOR THE FUTURE

February 8, 2025 by

I look for permanent buildings the older I get. It’s always a treat. I’m older than the town I live in, older than the first house I owned, older than where I live mow. Maybe I’m the permanent building? Naw. Maybe you?

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PORTLAND DIRT IS JUST LIKE YOUR DIRTY TOWN

February 4, 2025 by

  To know Portland Oregon you better like dirt. I’m not talking about pioneering farmers, either. It started with the first native canoe stopping on the Willamette. Paddling against the current takes as much energy now as it did then, so if you’re into historical reenactment you’d better be in shape.

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THE WILD SIDE, OR JUST ANOTHER WALK

January 29, 2025 by

Oregon’s wild side is a twenty minute drive away. Big city life gets gritty near Portland, Oregon’s West Burnside. The pretty lights, the shimmering beauty reflected on the Willamette from the top deck of the Marquam Bridge that looks like Paris lights on the Seine from the Eiffel Tower, disappear after you park your car. […]

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EXQUISITE CREATURES, OR JUST MY FAMILY

January 25, 2025 by

Exquisite Creatures is in the final days of its second run at OMSI. Christopher Marley’s nature collection occupies two floors. In one word, it’s an incredible experience made more so by who I saw it with: Wife, kid, daughter in-law, and a four year old. But not just any four year old, which I’ll get […]

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MOUNT HOOD VIEW FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD

January 9, 2025 by

The Mount Hood view is so good from the neighborhood that streets are named after it. That’s what you get in a town near a mountain. You could say a town near a mountain range since there’s also a view of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams to the north, Mt. Jefferson to the south […]

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HEALING POWER OF WRITING (feeling better yet?)

January 6, 2025 by

healing power

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HUSTLER MAN FAIL AT DINNER TABLE

December 12, 2024 by

I watched a hustler man work the magic one night at a dinner table. He was alone, wife out of town, with a few married couples. One woman caught his attention. Hustler: You seem very happy tonight.

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PORTLAND PARK BLOCKS IN DECEMBER WITH DOG

December 12, 2024 by

The Portland Park Blocks, the south side, deserves a good look this time of year. Call it a learning moment, my dog did. Who’s a good girl. We started at Portland State University to see what the youths were up to.

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