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WINERY REMINDER: KNOW YOUR TASTING GLASS

This is a winery reminder for Oregon wine country: If you buy a flight of wine to taste test, keep track of your glass. A seven-wine flight doesn’t mean seven glasses. But you probably know this. Since I live within shouting distance from one winery after another, now I know.

EVERY DAY IS A NEW CHANCE FOR SMALL CHANGES

Every day has promises to keep with miles to go before we sleep. Sound familiar? It was a poem written by an old man named Robert Frost. When I first read ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ I chalked it up to a reflection on mortality. Reading it now, instead of a high school […]

HOT ENOUGH YET: A COOL REVIEW FOR RELIEF

Yes, it’s hot enough. It’s been too hot for a few days, so hot that people talk about moving to Arizona for a break. Snow Birds aren’t running from the cold in June, they’re running from the surprising heat cooking the Pacific Northwest. When a Heat Dome slams shut, the temps rise. Who’s ever heard […]

DOWNSIZING GUIDE: FROM A PASSED PORTLAND GENERATION

They didn’t have a downsizing guide when they decided to move. All they knew was that 12,000 square feet over four floors was a little large for two people. Their house was a museum of their lives together. Now all the books, dishes, and furniture, enough for three households, were moving. It had been a […]

PORTLAND TREND OR OREGON’S FUTURE ON A NEW TRAIL

While I usually drag on about other things, I sense a Portland trend here: @Oregonian Portland’s police chief and mayor are set to announce Tuesday that city police will no longer stop motorists for low-level infractions, such as equipment failures or expired plates, to reduce disproportionate stops of people of color. Fewer tickets for minor […]

FALLING WOMEN, AND HOW TO HELP THEM UP

Falling women need a good landing. If you’re around when it happens, what’s the best move? Since a fall is usually accidental, the landing part comes from basic instinct, not planning. I’ve been that landing a few times, some better than others. You?

UNDERSTANDING PHOENIX FROM PORTLAND OREGON

Understanding Phoenix is easier if you have some kind of reference. Call it an urban reference. Phoenix is Big City big, but it’s more than that. Phoenix is the focal point of Arizona the way Portland is in Oregon. Not everyone enjoys that status, mostly those who don’t live in Portland or Phoenix. You’re either […]

CITY TRASH FROM PORTLAND TO VANCOUVER

City trash comes with the territory. More people, more garbage, more clean up. Except the clean up part is lacking, and it’s not the first time. Take New York City trash for example. More people than Portland, which is bigger than Staten Island, but half the size of the other Burroughs. I moved to the […]

EAST COAST KIND, WEST COAST NICE, WHICH ONE IS BETTER

East coast people stand up for this, stand up for that. And they stand up for themselves. “I do, I do stand up for myself,” is the reply that works best, right until they start talking about what they stand up for. Then it gets dicey, a little uncomfortable. It’s one thing to stand up […]

CREATIVE LIFE? OR JUST LOST, CONFUSED, AND EMBARRASSED

You live a creative life, whether you know it or not. Every hour of every day, from start to finish, we all live the creative life. Those who disagree don’t understand the word creative. Instead, they see images of people who call themselves Creatives, and back away. You don’t like self expression that includes tattoos […]