page contents Google

FATHER FIGURE OF THE FUTURE: VOTE BIDEN

The last time I talked to my step-dad, he was a father figure. He said he didn’t ask us boys to call him Dad. I called him Dad then. He was in an acute recovery facility after surgery during covid and smoke, I was outside his window talking through a screen. “You were a good […]

BURIED STORIES, EXPRESSIONS OF HOPE

News hounds dig for the buried stories that explain everything. Sometimes it works better than others. They find diamonds in the rough, clean them up, and exhibit them. Where’s that buried story dog in Oregon? Asking for readers from the Top Ten states on boomerpdx overnight: Oregon, California, Washington, followed by Texas, New York, Florida, […]

INFORMATIONAL BLOG REVIEW, PANDEMIC VERSION

An informational blog does one thing best: it informs. But you know that. From a professional blogging point of view, the information on a blog needs to stay on topic. This blog, boomerpdx, sounds like a Baby Boomer blog, and it is. But like the now second biggest demographic in America, thanks millennials, the sky […]

MARATHON LIFE RULE: START STRONG AND FINISH

I lived the marathon life rule in my twenties. At twenty-nine I took the plunge in Seaside. The image is at the start of the race. No, I’m not a giant, but maybe in this crowd. One does not simply ‘run’ a marathon without consequences, not if you plan on a one and done event, […]

GYM ELECTIONS: WHY I MISS THE OLD MAN WHISPERING GROUP

Even if there’s no such thing as Gym Elections, you’d never know it. A focus group used to gather regularly, lean in, and talk the talk. Fun guys, conservative learning republicans, working out their latest take on overnight news. A retired teacher, a retired doctor, and a current fire breather, were staples, though they had […]

HOW “DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO” PEOPLE FOLLOW DIRECTIONS

Hard headed people know what to do, so don’t bother telling them anything and expect them to follow directions. “Don’t walk on the edge of a bridge over the Tualatin River,” someone had to have said. Who listened before hopping up and taking big steps? They were easy directions to follow. Not a life changer. […]

AMERICAN PRACTICE: VOTE LIKE IT MATTERS

An American practice is like a medical practice: sometimes we get it wrong. Sometimes we get it right and it’s still wrong. If you’re old enough to vote, do it. Vote like it matters and encourage others to do the same. Voting is part of an American practice, like minding our own business and staying […]

ELLEN URBANI MAKES GOOD TROUBLE

Ellen Urbani wrote an essay published in Time Magazine. “Our president wants you to believe I am a terrorist, a professional agitator stalking the Pacific Northwest.“ The title of the essay was, “I’m a Mom Who Came Out to Protest for Black Lives in Portland. I Was Shot by Federal Agents.” That’s where the wheelchair […]

FAMILY MAN? WHO WERE YOU BEFORE THAT

Every man is a family man until it’s time to do what family men do. “But, Dave, what do family men do?” I’ll answer before you ask, because you were going to.