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VICTIM MAN TELLS WOMEN ALL ABOUT IT

Who is victim man? You? Me? The guy down the street? It’s all of the above, but only one person gets the trophy: The man who cries and moans the loudest and most often.

TIME TRAVEL WITH BULLIES BEING BULLIES

Time travel with me back fifty years. Here’s why: Fifty years ago I was a seventeen year old student following the stream from Miss Spooner’s kindergarten classes at Roosevelt to graduating on the football field where my sports heroes played. It was a good run.

BROKEN MEN: IT HURTS WHEN I DO THIS

Memo to broken men who hurt themselves: Don’t do that. The remaining question remains. How do men break?

TRAGIC BOY FOR TRAGIC TIMES: VANKA

One tragic boy cannot stand in for all tragic children, but Anton Chekhov makes it happen. News of some kid with bad intentions gunning a classroom creates tragedy beyond believe. Again. Chekhov cuts to the quick with Vanka.

OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH: HOW ARE THINGS LOOKING IN TEXAS

From the sound of the words alone, ‘observational research’ sounds sketchy. ‘Observational’ asks who is doing the observing. If it’s Bob Tom in Texas observing the landscape, a landscape of livestock, who decides his cows are ‘host bodies’ for more cows to increase his herd, he’s being a good rancher. But if it’s Bob Tom […]

BEST LIFE TO LIVE IS RIGHT NOW, RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE

“Live your best life,” they say, but what’s it really mean? I’m pretty sure ‘they’ don’t mean take a page from the bi-polar play book and create new personalities based on internet scrolling. Mental health is no laughing matter, but what is it about some people who display red flags and call it their best […]

HORSE SENSE AND LEARNING TO RIDE LIKE A HUNGARIAN

Horse sense is common sense. Says as much right off in the dictionary. What it doesn’t say is what people learn riding a horse. To me that’s a better definition of horse sense. Instead of some blow-hard mansplaining how something simple is done in a most condescending tone, the horse teaches by example. That’s me […]

MASK SAFETY ADVICE? IT STARTED BEFORE COVID AROUND HERE

Mask safety feels a little redundant after a year, as if slow learners are leading the way, and it’s going astray. To clear things up, point to a mask and what it means. Give it a good look. It’s a blue mask, a white mask, a cloth mask, or an N95 mask. That mask, worn […]

BIG TRUCKS FOR BIG JOBS

If you’ve got a big job, I mean really big, you’ll need big trucks to get ‘er done. Why big trucks? Because big jobs usually have a delivery component. You may not need the truck ‘on’ the job, but you’ll need a visit. Building a house? Big trucks are in your future. Building a skyscraper? […]

Willie Nelson Brings More To Portland Than His Band

The old guitar picker takes the stage tonight at McMenamins Edgefield. Willie Nelson, all eighty five years of himself, takes the stage after opener Allison Krause.   More important, he’s on the cover of AARP magazine. Why is that important? How many public figures don’t want to talk about age? In a youth motivated culture, […]