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CUVÉE MOTHER’S DAY WITH CHEF GILBERT HENRY AND COMPANY

Mother’s Day grows more importance when it’s part of a masterplan. Add a road trip with a restaurant at the end and it edges toward epic. It goes without saying that any two lane drive through rural Washington and Yamhill County is enough to make you want to sell everything and move into a dilapidated […]

SHARING SPECIAL DAYS, EVERY LAST ONE

Special days have special meaning which don’t hit the same for everyone. For some it’s repeating, “Why bother,” for the fortieth time. Others like to say, “I thought we’ve moved past all that.” But you still find those looking for something special in every day, and keep looking until they find it. Hell or high […]

LET THEM, LET YOU, OR LET ME?

The Let Them Theory book has a lot of lets in the letters. My favorites are the parts that address my problems, which come with a writing habit from what I can tell. Will I discover why I’m not a better writer? Learn what I should have done by now, or find a lingering message […]

NORTH BEND HEROES START HERE

 Calling North Bend a small town is a disservice to real small towns everywhere. Driving south on 101 and crossing the North Bend Bridge takes you under this sign. If you’re not paying close attention and keep going the same direction, the entire area of the largest metro complex on the Oregon coast feels like […]

DIFFERENT SOLDIERS? HOW DIFFERENT

The men in uniform during WWII were different soldiers, different kind of people. The Axis powers carried an extreme devotion to duty, an extreme devotion to their emperor, and an extreme devotion to cruelty over helpless victims. By the way, this isn’t new, not breaking news, but a reminder for short-memoried morons who ought to […]

RECLAIMING MY TIME ON SOUTHERN OREGON COLLEGE SIXTY-FIVE YEARS LATER

Southern Oregon College Graduating Class of 1960: My dad. He transferred after two years at Central Oregon Community College in Bend. It was a well used path to the first college degree in his family. He was thirty years old, an old 30. Back then thirty was older, fifty was a grandparent. Hit sixty and […]

EARLY TO WORK EVERY DAY

In my field if you’re not early to work, you’re late. If you’re late you can’t be a blogger? No, you can be late and blog, late and write, and it’s a good idea to be late. Being late builds demand. Can’t you feel it? But not too late.

WATCHING NEWS, KEEPING CURRENT

We’ve been watching news, keeping an eye on things, staying current. Nothing gets by us. With a pump in a water-tank, we find the flow. My school friends and I all believe a water pump in our tank is an essential service. It’s a big part of what keeps us alive and thriving, that and […]

THE LEADING AGE, I MEAN LEADING EDGE

The leading age comes after long years of experience, and putting it into practice for the benefit of others. The best blacksmith in town learns to pound steel into the correct form and he teaches others the same skill before his elbow sidelines him. The best woodworker shapes stock into useful pieces and helps others […]

MUSIC MUSCLE: USE IT OR LOSE IT

Where is the music muscle? In your fingertips? In your ear? In your voice? No wrong answer here. It’s all three, but there’s still something missing. Whether it’s ambient noise, sounds, notes, or whether it’s so important you buy tickets and make travel plans, there’s something about music I still don’t get. On one hand […]