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ASIAN AMERICANS ARE AS AMERICAN AS IT GETS

March 12, 2021 by

Asian Americans are as American as it gets. I’ve said it twice. Fight me. Hate crimes against elderly Asian Americans is not a sport, not a statement, but an act of cowardice and ignorance committed by the sort of people we’ve seen too much of. Who are they? Who might be joining them? It’s people […]

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BIG CITY DICKENS, AND FADING LOVE LIGHTS, A Short Story Of Intimacy

January 19, 2021 by

I got engaged and followed my future across the country. We met while I was an English major nursing a writer’s dream after an Army tour. She graduated and moved home with our wedding plans, so I dropped out and followed. Then she dropped me. Instead of hanging around New Jersey for a second chance, […]

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LIME JUICE, LEMON JUICE, AND ORANGE JUICE

June 22, 2020 by

Juice comes from any fruit or vegetable that gets squeezed hard enough. But why not just eat the fruit or vegetable and call it good? Once you eat a grape, drink some grape juice, what’s next? Some might say wine, some might not, but wine is the answer.

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TRAVEL BUG BITES BACK? SCRATCH THAT ITCH

April 23, 2020 by

Once upon a time the bite from a travel bug meant one thing: pack that bag. We all know people bitten by the travel bug. From pictures, to videos, to restaurant receipts, they can’t stop re-telling the same story over and over. We know them because that’s just who we are. See something that draws […]

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK? COME ON NEW YORK

April 19, 2020 by

Doing the right thing in New York is the same as doing the right thing in Oregon: Stay home, keep a social distance. My social distance from NYC is 3000 miles away, but it wasn’t always that way. Frank said it best:

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HISTORICAL DREAM OF PARIS AND VERSAILLES

February 28, 2020 by

One historical dream, a recurring dream for adventurers and scholars, is being somewhere important by yourself. Imagine renting Disneyland, except it’s Versailles. And you’ve got it all to yourself.

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WHAT CITY FOLK FAIL TO NOTICE

February 17, 2020 by

When city folk, important people doing important things, step outside their comfort zone, they too often neglect the effort it takes to receive them. Isn’t it the same with you? If you want to see something, you make an effort to get there. It’s more than sitting at a desk, then sitting in a car, […]

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RELUCTANT TRAVELER REPORTS PROGRESS

January 15, 2020 by

How many times has a world traveler started telling their story only to be interrupted by a local traveler? The short answer? Too many.

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INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL: JUST ADD WATER

December 28, 2019 by

Them: I haven’t seen you in a while. Me: I just got back. Them: Where did you go?

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DECADE ENDS IN SOFT TALK, HARD TRUTHS

December 26, 2019 by

    Me: This decade ends the best of times and worst of times. Them: Did you just make that up, or are you finally going to admit to stealing from Charles Dickens? Me: Writers don’t steal, they borrow. Them: Like the time you borrowed a notebook from Payless in Pony Village?

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