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BE SMART OR BE DEAD, BLUE BLOOD

“Be smart or be dead,” comes from a cop show I watch with my wife. It could be any cop show watched with any wife as long as Tom Selleck is in it. In a recent episode a retired cop stops some shady punk from robbing a cashier by pulling his gun, aiming it at […]

VISIT GRANDMA FOR LESSONS SOONER THAN LATER

My Visit Grandma story is about the first woman elected to the Bend City Council in 1964. My Grandma. I was twelve and she was something. My grandparents were church people who abided by Presbyterian rules. They took it very seriously. As church people do, they made it a big part of their local reputation, […]

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 […]

LEAVING PLACES BETTER THAN YOU FOUND THEM IS NOT ASKING TOO MUCH

Experienced campers know all about leaving places better than they found them. Pick up the trash, pack your gear, and move along. It’s that easy, and that hard with campers. After the camping trip is done and they get home, the clean up continues for the next time. Will Mr. Trump be a good camper? […]

PROFESSIONAL BLOGGER or HOBBY BLOGGER

A professional blogger reads the room, knows their audience, and edits like a crazy person. Being a professional means never getting caught mistaking to, too, or two. The same with they’re, there, and their. Accept and except, its and it’s fill out the card. Being a pro means taking greater interests in what moves the […]

HELPING OTHERS LEARN HOW TO HELP OTHERS

Helping others seems like the shortened version of the Golden Rule. Boomers remember the Golden Rule after the Grandma squad drilled it in. Millennials might be a little foggy on it since their parents didn’t take them to church, quote Bible verses, or give them the gift of spending a week with a great-Grandma. Here […]

TORCH PASSING? WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME

When it comes to torch passing, timing is everything. And it’s usually the wrong time. My dad died the day after my last visit.

AMERICAN MADE? TIME TO PROVE IT BY VOTING

American Made is a label that gets tossed around more than it should. It means quality, trust, a better future that the rest of world looks to for guidance. That was then. What does it mean now? Is it still the land of the free, home of the brave?

BETTER LISTENING BY BETTER LISTENERS

Reprint from the paper: Early Sunday morning there were campers in their tents, people lined up in the chow line, and young people patiently waiting their turn in the restroom, the one labeled “Men’s.” Occupy Portland staffed the first aid tent and the media desk while KBOO-FM 90.7 settled into their studio for the early […]