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LEADER PREPARATION TRAINING PROGRAM 2025

November 17, 2025 by David Gillaspie

This is my claim to leader preparation, not leader, but ready to lead. I lean on the Fort Ord Leadership Academy when I need to tighten things up. I’d like to thank the academy for the training? Thank you, but during the supposed twenty-one hours of training we were all so sleep-deprived we could barely […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: adversity, art, Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, craftsman, culture, education, great men, history, history teacher, leader, leader preparation, leader preparation program, leadership, leadership academy, learning, Love, MARRIAGE, millennials, North Bend, Oregon, Portland Oregon, preparation, program, story, teacher, teaching, travel, work, writer, writing

LEARNING MORE AS WE GO? OK BOOMER

June 22, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Learning more is a life goal. Sharing life goals with others makes it even better. Baby boomers in the long haul of marriage have so much to look forward to, and look back on. That’s the benefit of sticking around, of sticking together. Embrace your history, ok boomer? How does that work? Stick around.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, black belt, BOOMER, education, history, history books, history question, learning, learning more, listening, martial arts, more better, ok boomer, pain, personal history, pho, read books, reading, sticking around, sticking together, teachers, teaching, the boss, Vietnam, Vietnam War, war story, what happened, writing

FATHERS DAY AFTER CLASS IN SESSION

June 16, 2025 by David Gillaspie

My Fathers Day go-to family picture: A thirty year old man with three sons and a wife who looks like Jackie Kennedy taken in 1960. The old man has an expression asking, ‘What have I gotten myself into.’ It’s a father’s look, the same look over the gates. It never gets old. That’s me in […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: brothers, Class in session, coach, coaching, college degree, Dad, family, family picture, father's day, fathers day, give up, Middle Child, Mom, never stop, night class, old man, Oregon, sisters, Southern Oregon, teacher, teaching, walking away

OLD LESSON PLAN FOR NEW TIMES

March 8, 2024 by David Gillaspie

An old lesson plan? From Aristotle? Who needs one with new lessons every day? More like who doesn’t? Sometimes it takes a while for things to sink in.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Aristotle, better listeners, blog, blogger, boomerpdx, caesar, Death, education, great stories, history, japan, japanese, Lakewood theater, lesson plan, listening, mentors, moral codes, plato, roman, socrates, story, story structure, storytelling, teacher, teachers, teaching, three acts, war story, writer, writers, writing, WWII

DEATH WISH? IT’S JUST A STAGE

February 7, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Death wish yourself into being a better person? “If I can’t be who I think I am I’d rather die.” Is that a wish, or a condition? I don’t know, but what I do know is ‘the end’ is the end. Most of the time.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: blog, blog writer, blogger, boomerpdx, dancing, David Gillaspie, Death, death wish, deer hunter, education, education blog, fitness blog, helping, history, history blog, live right, old man, painting, Portland, portland blog, promises, substance abuse, teaching, travel, travel blog, writer, writers, writing

WINNING ARGUMENTS: THEN AND NOW

February 6, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Winning arguments with strangers is one thing; winning the same argument with someone close comes with side-effects. Someone close? How close. Let’s start with an internal argument, that little voice that won’t go away. Can’t get any closer than that, huh?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: bad apple, black sheep, blame, blog, blogger, boomerpdx, calm, calm down, David Gillaspie, education, lady gaga, memorial, Mother Nature, nature, positive self-talk, remembered, remembering, smart move, surrender, teach, teacher, teaching, teaching moment, useful, writer, writers, writing

GAME CLOCK FUN? IT’S ALWAYS RUNNING

January 15, 2023 by David Gillaspie

The game clock of life runs and runs, and it’s running fast. We still like to think we all start the same. No one notices the difference since we’re so busy doing other things. Maybe you’re heard that life happens when you’re doing other things? What other things?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, caregiving, caring, denmark, fun, funny, game clock, happy, have fun, learning, loving life, magical, make plans, MARRIAGE, memory, motivation, netflix, priority, teaching, the last kingdom

WHIPLASH IN REAL LIFE: HOUNDED BY AMBITIONS

October 5, 2022 by David Gillaspie

Whiplash the movie came out in 2014. I saw it two days ago. After I heard about it I waited to watch until it was unavoidable. My takeaway? Don’t wait. But watch it with a musician for the best experience. It’s not just for drummers.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: abusive, ambitions, army bootcamp, Baby Boomers, blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, coach, movies, music, musical hopes, teachers, teaching, teaching moment, whiplash

KNOWING MORE IS NOT THE PROBLEM

October 21, 2021 by David Gillaspie

Knowing more at the end of a project is a jump start to the next one. Add that knowledge to the quest for life long learning and move on. Or, you can re-do the last project and apply new knowledge for a better result. That’s the choice, use education moving forward, or use it to […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: college, curiosity, curious, education, knowing more, knowledge, learning, life long learning, museum, mystery, school, teacher, teaching

FEELING IT YET? GIVE IT TIME BROTHERS AND SISTERS

July 12, 2021 by David Gillaspie

Feeling old is a state of mind. At least that’s what you hear from old people. Along with the idea that there’s a younger person is still living in what appears to be an aging body. That’s a state of mind, too. “I’m still eighteen, even if I’m seventy.” Is this even a healthy attitude? […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: aging, angels, cancer, Death, death process, family, feeling old, old age, old man, old people, Oprah, teaching