An excitable boy at age eighteen is a good thing. I had a great year at that age. Graduated from high school, got a summer job, hitch-hiked to Iowa and back. I left town for college, then turned nineteen and joined the Army the next fall like it was school. That’s where I saw older […]
ACCEPTABLE LOSSES WITH EXCEPTIONS
January 23, 2025 by
Acceptable losses come with a line. Whether losses are acceptable or not usually depends on which side of the line you’re on. If friends and family are on one side, and you’re not? Either they’re on the loss side, or it’s you. Then what? Since I’ve been around a while, here’s a few ideas:
THE INTIMATE PERSONAL, BUT WHY?
April 30, 2023 by
The intimate personal is the #1 Rule of memoirists, novelists, poets, playwrites, noodlers, doodlers, and bloggers. Their readers want to know things, not necessarily first hand. Something on a page, or screen, is more than enough. But, someone’s still got to get it there. Some of my favorites:
VIETNAM VETERANS ON BOOMERPDX
March 29, 2023 by
My Vietnam Veterans show up on BoomerPdx not as veterans but as guys I’ve met along the way. Extraordinary guys I’ve been lucky to meet. What’s my plan to meet anyone? Get out of the house and walk around and you can’t go wrong.
LATE SIXTIES GATHERING: 500K IN VIETNAM, 400K AT WOODSTOCK
July 21, 2022 by
A late Sixties gathering in the air: We would take off at max gross weight 6000 pounds light on fuel. At the first refueling we would fill up to the inflight max gross weight to head North. Refueling here was a “piece of cake.” Try it at night and in the weather and was […]
MAN’S FAILURE TO THINK DENIES HUMAN EVOLUTION? ASK JOHN STEINBECK
March 7, 2022 by
If you want to know more about about man’s failure, read John Steinbeck. He was born in a short span that brought us Fitzgerald (1896), Faulkner (1897), ( Hemingway (1899), Wolfe (1900), and Steinbeck (1902). (Turns out I’m not the first one to notice. Hey, Ed.) They knew plenty about man’s failure. And shared it. […]
DOPE STORY: WHAT TO SAY TO HEROIN GUY
February 26, 2020 by
What’s the right thing to say after hearing another sad dope story? The request: I’d like you to write my story. The response: Tell me the story.
LEGACY BOOMERS LEARN TO TELL TIME AND TURN BACK CLOCK
December 14, 2019 by
Legacy boomers showed up early. They were the first wave of kids when Johnny marched home after WWII. Families started between 1946-1952 produced future hippies and draft dodgers and leaders. Those are the people referred to when millennials drag baby boomers with “Ok Boomer.” So the rest of us get a pass? Uh, no. And […]
BOOMER BUBBLE: LIVING IN A PORCUPINE SUIT
October 8, 2019 by
Once you make it to the ‘home’ things change; you’re out of the boomer bubble and into the back stretch of life. Everyone can justify being nice since you’re on the clock. Or when you move to the ‘over 55’ community? Same deal, things change, but you’re still not out of the boomer bubble. No […]
Chain Of Command From The Bottom Up Point Of View
July 17, 2018 by
After you’ve lived in a chain of command culture the picture clears up. It’s not about being over-burdened, neglected, or picked on. It is about preparing to be a better link in the chain. Not exactly another brick in the wall, a chain is more active. Or it’s preparation to leave the chain […]
