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END PRODUCT IS WHAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT, NOT PRACTICE

June 7, 2026 by David Gillaspie

‘End Product’ is another way of saying, “What have you done lately?” We pay to go to concerts, games, and races. We don’t pay to go to practice rooms, weight rooms, or interval track training, the stuff done before the end product. Buy a ticket for an event and you expect a competent performance? Sounds […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, basketball court, being smart, being strong, better, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, Coos Bay, education, end, end product, keep practicing, marshfield high school, musical instruments, Oregon, organized noise, people care, practice, practicing, product, story, wife, writer, writers, writing

HISTORICAL ACCURACY? IMPORTANT, OR NOT

June 6, 2026 by David Gillaspie

I’m a fan of historical accuracy, of a story that stands up to scrutiny not opinion, My feeling is that the people involved in historical events deserve the decency of applied history. How to apply history? It’s all about the sources.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: accuracy, applied history, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, casual killing, D-Day, decisive leaders, dismissive death, education, family, historical, historical accuracy, history, history sources, Internet, leaders, learning, married, opinion, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, respect, scrutiny, settled history, Social media, story, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing, WWII

MAKING THE CANCER CALL 2026

June 5, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Ten years ago I got the cancer call. Me: Hello. Doc: Are you sitting down? Me: Yes. (I was in the bathroom.) Doc: The tests came back. You have cancer. Me: That’s not good.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, cancer, cancer call, cancer patients, cancer terror, clinic, doctor, education, learning, medicaid, medical, medicare, medicine, mental health, miracles, modern medicine, physical health, story, stunned disbelief, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing

OPENING NIGHT AT THE ROSE GARDEN

June 4, 2026 by David Gillaspie

I watched the Rose Garden, home to your Portland Trail Blazers, rise up on the Northeast bank of the mighty Willamette River. From opening night until now it’s been . . . thirty-one years? As long as the Memorial Coliseum stands, the Rose Garden will always be the new kid on the block. And now […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, BLAZERS, history, Michael Jordan, Moda Center, NBA, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Rose Garden, Portland Trail Blazers, Rose Garden, shonz, story, Trail Blazers, travel, twitter, wife, winner, winning, writer, writers, writing

ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR REMINDER FROM VETERANS ADMINISTRATION MAILER

June 2, 2026 by David Gillaspie

As a veteran of the President Gerald Ford Army of 1974-76, I feel I know what acceptable behavior is without a reminder from the Veteran’s Administration in 2026. I knew the program way before joining the Army. Where did I gain such valuable information? The Boy Scouts. This all rings true from Acceptable Behaviors listed […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: acceptable behavior, Army veteran, Baby Boomer blogger, behavior, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boy scouts, Death, education, fitness, harassment, history, honoring differences, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, respecting others, scout law, scouts, Social media, story, the troops, uncomfortable situations, veterans' administration, writer, writers, writing

MAKING PROGRESS WITH GRAND DECKS

June 1, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Making progress on a deck doesn’t look like this, but the ending does. Inspector dog agrees. Three picture framed sections? Check. Boards fastened without anything showing? Check. Railing is sturdy? Check. But what did it look like before?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: architect, artist, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, builders, building, education, engineer, facebook, grand decks, history, making progress, millennials, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, progress, story, wife, writer, writers, writing, youtube

FENDER TELECASTER, MORE THAN A FEELING

May 31, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Playing notes and chords on a Fender Telecaster is an act of history. Even more if it’s a butterscotch Tele. Why? Because it has a legacy. It’s an historical artifact, a throwback, brought up to date every year. Playing one puts you in the legacy no matter how long, whether from 1950 to yesterday. But […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: boomer blogger, boomerpdx, dreams, family, fender, fender guitar, fender telecaster, historical legacy, history, hopes, kids, legacy, MARRIAGE, millennials, music, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, story, telecaster, telecaster guitar, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing

BOOK BUYBACK AT POWELL’S BEAVERTON

May 30, 2026 by David Gillaspie

A book buyback trip to Powell’s Beaverton store usually hurts my brain. This time was no exception. Ouch, my head. Out of four bankers boxes full of books this is the shot of what they bought back. Am I buying the wrong books?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, beaverton, book, book buyback, books, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, buying, buying books, education, history, learning, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, powell's, Powell's beaverton, reader, reading, reading books, story, wife, writer, writers, writing

HELPING OTHERS DO THEIR JOB?

May 26, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Helping others has always been a trend. We are remembered if we help others and you want to be remembered don’t you? Remembered for more than your stunning good looks and colorful repartee? Be helpful. But not too helpful. There is a standard, after all.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, BOOMER, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, caregiver, customer service, education, family, family caregiver, help, helping, helping others, history, learning, Love, Oregon, over Dave, people pleaser, raving kook, Social media, story, wife, writer, writers, writing

MEMORIAL DAY WITH THE BOYS AT 19

May 25, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Memorial Day is good time to remember what it is and who it’s for. From Google AI: The average age of war dead in World War I was approximately 26 to 27 years old, depending on the nation and the stage of the conflict. While the average age hovered in the mid-to-late twenties, more […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Belgian, belgium, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, Flanders field, follow orders, historical, history, history channel, Korea, memorial day, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Stella, stella Artois, story, talking orders, travel, Vietnam, wife, writer, writers, writing, wwi, WWII