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WRITTEN RULES TO FOLLOW

July 12, 2025 by

Written rules started early for baby boomers. “Do this, not that, and do it better than you did last time. I’ll write it down so you don’t forget.” From yard work to school work, to spending time with friends, there were rules. Ignore the rules and you might be the kid standing in the corner […]

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BIRTHDAY WEEK WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE

June 25, 2025 by

Birthday Week is not a request, you just take it: You: This is my birthday week. Them: Really? Your mother had that long of  labor? You: More or less. Them: If that’s the case I’d have a birthday hour.

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OREGON BERRY REVIEW: FARM TO FACE

June 23, 2025 by

Oregon Berry Packing lies seventeen minutes from my front door. In that time I can travel from tacky suburban developments to acres and acres of farmland stretching every direction. To put it in a different perspective, Portland is also seventeen minutes from my front door, on a good traffic day. From concrete jungle to the […]

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THE PORTLAND DIFFERENCE: URBAN FEAR

June 19, 2025 by

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 […]

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INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL

June 9, 2025 by

I’ve been personally indivisible for quite some time. It could be from growing up with brothers where you carved out your own identity, and a sister who had it all figured out. And I wasn’t the first born, which is important, so I never had everything to myself without some pesky little creature making sounds […]

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DIFFERENT TIME, DIFFERENT PLACE

May 25, 2025 by

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:

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LIFE AWARD TO GIVE YOURSELF

May 24, 2025 by

A life award usually comes to celebrities and dignitaries after decades of service, a lifetime of devotion, or a string of good luck. Community awards go to involved citizens, like the guy doing public service in the picture. What says ‘ Come To Portland’ better than snuggling up to the law? Always keep goods relations […]

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AWARD WINNING TAKES PRACTICE

May 23, 2025 by

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:

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NORTHWEST LOVEJOY, PORTLAND OREGON

May 17, 2025 by

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 […]

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HUMAN ZOO OF SATURDAY PARKING

May 11, 2025 by

I joined the human zoo on Saturday, a clear sky, warm weather, Oregon Zoo day with wife, kids, and grandkids. We weren’t alone. By 11 o’clock Lots A, B, C were all full. Was I flashing back to past parking nightmares? Maybe a little after driving a thousand miles in England, but I had a […]

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