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LET THEM, LET YOU, OR LET ME?

May 7, 2026 by David Gillaspie 1 Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blogger, book, boomerpdx, education, F AROUND, FAFO, find out, let them, let them theory, letters, old man, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, prolific, read, reader, reading, self help, travel, wife, write, writer, writers, writing

NATIONAL PRIDE FROM THE BACK ROW

January 29, 2026 by David Gillaspie

The idea of national pride usually comes from where you were brought up, and who raised you. My sense of things comes from growing up in small town America, raised by parents who came from even smaller towns. The sophisticate in the family was Grandma, who grew up in Dallas, Texas, graduated high school as […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: academic, America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blogger, boomerpdx, education, facebook, Great Depression, IQ, learning, Love, national, national pride, parents, personal pride, pride, proudest parents, public education, scholarship, sorority, sorority sister, story, teacher, twitter, write, writer, writers, writing, WWII, young adults

WHY AUTHENTIC MUSEUMS STILL MATTER

January 3, 2026 by David Gillaspie

I’ve been inside authentic museums of all kinds, from the Gene Autry Museum of the American West, to the Petersen Automotive Museum, to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. They all come with a suspension of disbelief. Does everything have to be perfect? Noooooo. But they do have to be authentic.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, American History, american museums, artifacts, authentic, authentic museums, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blogger, boomerpdx, education, future, go wrong, historical artifacts, history, ignorance, Love, make sense, millennial kids, museum, museums, passive ignorance, read, responsible, story, travel, uncertain future, where is this going, woolworths, work it out, write, writer, writers, writing

ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE

November 1, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Part of the job in writing a blog like boomerpdx is reading The New Yorker. That’s where I found The Fifties by Monica Ferrell. She’s got a website loaded up with the works. The works?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, another place, another time, attentive, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, duty, education, frank o'hara, history, marathon man, Monica Ferrell, new yorker, Oregon, place, poem, poet, poetry, Portland, the fifties, the New Yorker, time, why you, write, writer, writing

MY PEOPLE, YOUR PEOPLE, OUR PEOPLE

August 12, 2025 by David Gillaspie

My people are good listeners, up to a point. Requesting something five time in a minute is close to that point. “Please do this. Have you done it. It’s all set up for you. Get started. You’d be done if you’s started sooner.” We also have patience. What about your people?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, believable people, blog, blog post, BOOMER, boomerpdx, existential dread, fair question, good listeners, millennials, my people, old man, our people, patience, those people, write, writer, writing, your people

A CERTAIN AGE, THEN POOF. THAT’S IT?

August 9, 2025 by David Gillaspie

“As a culture, we tend to let people disappear at a certain age,” said Dustin Hoffman. What’s that feeling you get when you hear someone start with, “As a culture . . . ?” They’re talking about something you ought to know, or it’s something you don’t know and feel suspicious about. I side with […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: american life, as a culture, athlete, athletes, beauty and mystery, blog, bright lights, career, celebrities, culture, disappear, drama, fitness, fitness fan, kingpin, left alone, left out, new culture, people disappear, politicians, politics, public life, red carpet, sports, suspicious, tired, write, write a blog

WINNING STYLE FOR WINNERS

July 30, 2025 by David Gillaspie

This was my first view of winning style. As a very obedient child, (checking references,) I did what I was told. Go to a corner? On my way. Stand over there? Okay. Or bask in the moment like Muhammad Ali? It was an eye opener for little kids learning the sports ropes before rope-a dope.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: BOOMER, Churchill, civilized world., Death, death camps, drama in Bahama, Eisenhower, elder statesmen, family men, free world, gladiators, great evil, growing old, history, holocaust, joined forces, kids, Love, marital advice, mass deportation, mass murder, mass round-ups, muhammad Ali, murder, obedient child, old codgers, peace of mind, rumble in the jungle, The Greatest, thrilla in manila, warriors, winners, winning, winning style, write, wrote

WRITTEN RULES TO FOLLOW

July 12, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Written rules started early for baby boomers. “Do this, not that, and do it better than you did last time. I’ll write it down so you don’t forget.” From yard work to school work, to spending time with friends, there were rules. Ignore the rules and you might be the kid standing in the corner […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Army, Baby Boomers, boomers, condition report, following orders, law, magna carta, Meaning, NPR, Oregon, oregon guys, Portland, reading, reading people, rules, rules of conduct, words, write, write it, writing, written, written rules

DIFFERENCE MAKERS? THE SAUNA KNOWS

July 1, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Difference makers and white knights. Same thing? No. A white knight is a force for good; a difference maker can go either way. The main problem is where to find a white knight. I haven’t seen one riding around town lately, but I think they hang out in a sauna. How to know?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: blog post, difference maker, difference makers, dogs, first impressions, husbands, keep looking, kids, sauna, white knight, white knights, wives, write, writer, writing

LASTING CONSISTENCY OVER THE LONG HAUL

June 12, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Lasting consistency means one thing: dependable. You know what you’re looking for and you know what you’re getting when you find it. History is full of people needing things they can depend on and you can depend on this writer to dig them up. I know you’ve got a few yourself but that’s for your […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomers, blog, blogger, civilization, communication tool, connecting, consistency, culture, education, family, fasteners, history, kids, kindness, lasting consistency, long haul, Love, MARRIAGE, opinion, story, travel, uninformed opinion, wife, write, writer, writers, writing