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SOLVING PROBLEMS ONE WAY, (and the other)

January 13, 2026 by David Gillaspie

I started solving problems early with a traffic court appearance. I was sixteen and charged with speeding. On a Honda 100 motorcycle. It wasn’t known for speed. What was the problem?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: acid, America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, court appearance, decision making, drugs, education, family, kid problems, learning, millennials, narcotics, Oregon, Portland, Portland Oregon, problems, solutions, solving problems, traffic court, writer, writers, writing, young man

SELF DEFENSE WITH THE PROPER MOVES

January 11, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Self defense? I’ve never taken a class, but I encourage anyone to do it. Learn how to find a solution to a difficult problem. How much is too much? How far is too far? Where to start? In my mid to late teens I was a small town high school wrestler.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, avoiding trouble, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, defense, education, fitness, helpful, history, learning, Love, married, poor attitude, poor training, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, proper moves, self defense, sports, story, travel, trouble, twitter, writer, writers, writing

UNDEREDUCATED, OVEREDUCATED, OR JUST RIGHT

January 9, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Growing up, everyone is undereducated. From five, to fifteen, to twenty-five, the learning curve is steep. After high school, you’re done? Noooo. After a bachelor’s degree, your done? Nooooo After a professional degree, or graduate degree, you’re done? After all the learning, no matter how far you get, or how long it takes, we come […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, blogging superstar, boomer blogger, boomers, bot traffic, common standards, Death, dignity, education, facebook, google, google AI, historical, history, just right, learning, mistrust, Oregon, overeducated, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, portland shooting, standards, story, twitter, undereducated, wife, writer, writers, writing

LISTENING PRACTICE: START SOONER THAN LATER

January 8, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Listening practice with Ernest Hemingway: “We learn to talk by two, we learn to listen by sixty.” That he was dead at sixty-one says something about his listening skills? Nooooooo.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, be quiet, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, education, family, history, john wayne, keep quiet, learning, listening, listening practice, Love, movie business, personalities, quiet, rocket man, Show Business, television, ugly people, writer, writers, writing, WWII

HARD RAIN FALLING, GUTTERS OVERFLOWING, NOW WHAT?

January 7, 2026 by David Gillaspie

I’ve got a hard rain falling in drops you can see. Not the usual drizzle, not a sheet of water, but individual drops spaced and timed to perfection. It’s cold out, the kind of day that makes you think of other places you’ve heard about, seen on advertisements, the kind of cold and wet people […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, American Baby Boomer, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, better days, blog, blogger, Bob Dylan, boomer generation, call to action, Death, education, facebook, flood, getters, hard rain, history, hunger, Jan 6, learning, now what, Oregon, revisionist history, rewriting history, second opinion, show up, sink hole, stay warm, twitter, wife, writer, writers, writing, wrong history, WWII

ON REMEMBERING ANNIVERSARIES

January 6, 2026 by David Gillaspie

My wife is great for remembering anniversaries and birthdays. It’s an encyclopedic memory of family, friends, and pretty much anyone who has ever been born. At least that’s what it feels like in comparison to her husband, who is more selective. I remember plenty, I’m not saying I don’t, but ask me the birthday of […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: all good, America, anniversaries, anniversary, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, BOOMER, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, consequences, education, great, illegal order, law, law of the land, learning, Love, MARRIAGE, married, memory, remembering anniversaries, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing, WWII

EVERYBODY COMES FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE? GET OVER IT

January 4, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Q: Where are you from? A: All over the place. Q: Where did you grow up? A: It’s a long list.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, crime, crime family, do more, education, failure, family, feelings, fitness, fraud, history, kingpin, laundromat, learning, Love, personal essays, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, soliloquy, sonnet, story, Sunset Park Brooklyn, write something, writer, writers, writing

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

HOW TO WRITE, WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT

January 2, 2026 by David Gillaspie

How to write seems self-explanatory. Why bother is the real question. My Grandma on my Mom’s side passed this pearl of wisdom along: “Smart people talk about ideas, normal people talk about places, dumb people talk about other people.” With that mind, who are the big gossips in your group?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, autobiographical blogger, autobiography, biography, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, education, family, history, learning, millennials, Oregon Ducks, Portland Oregon, proust, sports, story, Thomas Wolfe, wife, write about, writer, writer heaven, writers, writing

NEW YEARS DAY WITH OREGON DUCKS

January 1, 2026 by David Gillaspie

My thanks go to the Oregon Ducks on New Years Day. Because of this college football team I watched three games in a row. With my wife. First, we talked:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, big-10, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, college football, Eugene, family, football, Georgia, go ducks, history, Indiana, MARRIAGE, Miami, millennials, ole miss, OOOOO, Oregon Ducks, SEC, sports, story, writer, writers, writing