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BURIED STORIES, EXPRESSIONS OF HOPE

October 24, 2020 by

News hounds dig for the buried stories that explain everything. Sometimes it works better than others. They find diamonds in the rough, clean them up, and exhibit them. Where’s that buried story dog in Oregon? Asking for readers from the Top Ten states on boomerpdx overnight: Oregon, California, Washington, followed by Texas, New York, Florida, […]

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BROKEN STAIRWAY? HOW TO REPLACE IT

October 15, 2020 by

My mother in law walked down a broken stairway for sixteen years. I’d replaced treads and firmed up the handrails, but we still joked about it. “An independent observer might think my son in law is trying to kill me by falling through these steps,” she laughed. “If the fall doesn’t kill you, my snake […]

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AMERICAN MADE? TIME TO PROVE IT BY VOTING

October 1, 2020 by

American Made is a label that gets tossed around more than it should. It means quality, trust, a better future that the rest of world looks to for guidance. That was then. What does it mean now? Is it still the land of the free, home of the brave?

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PORTLAND APARTMENTS, A BOOMERPDX LEGACY

September 12, 2020 by

Renting three consecutive Portland apartments over five years on the same city block means you’ve either found the right neighborhood, or you’re a NW Portland kook. I knew I wasn’t the kook when I first moved in. That guy lived in the house across the street, a large older man dressed in crotch strangling overalls […]

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BEER DRINKING THE HARD WAY WITH A FAIR FATHER

September 8, 2020 by

Most times, when it comes to beer drinking, you need a plan. The easy part is when and where. Then it gets tougher. Which beer to drink has become an identity check. In a place like Portland Beer City, a beer identity means everything. Beer cred means never getting caught with a commercial light beer. […]

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WHEN SOFT MEN,PILLOWY MEN, PLAY HARD

September 3, 2020 by

Take my opinions on soft men to heart, I’ve seen them in action. So have you. Like most converts to a new belief system, soft men who play hard go an extra mile, or ten. They’ve got something to prove to their soft man group. But there’s a special trick they use.

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TASKMASTER: WHY FINISHING A TASK FEELS SO GOOD

August 30, 2020 by

A taskmaster assigns work for others. In a marriage, that person is the husband, or wife. If two people are lucky enough to have kids, finishing tasks set a good example. Kids who take up the idea that a finished project feels good make their parents proud. But where does it start? How does it […]

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USEFUL NOISE WHEN SKIP A ROPE IS THE SOUND OF COMFORT

August 28, 2020 by

The sound of useful noise is a comfort. Some find it in a guitar, others in a piano, still more in the song they sing in the shower. No one sings Skip A Rope for comfort. It’s a mean song that’s beginning to sound like a new national anthem. Hit the link to hear it. […]

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TIGARD MAN: WHY MOVING OUT OF INNER CITY PORTLAND WAS A GOOD IDEA

August 20, 2020 by

I’ve been a Tigard Man for thirty years, but it feels like yesterday. Memories of Portland keep reminding me why I moved. Not bad memories, but they weren’t good for others. For example:

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PORTLAND MAN: PAST AND FUTURE OF A CITY ON THE EDGE

August 19, 2020 by

Portland man met another man and flipped a coin to name this place. We know who won since it’s not called Boston. From a distance it’s easy to see why people fall in love with a city growing in the woods. It’s a terrific strip of urban life in the western wilderness. You don’t have […]

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