Normandy, not Portland Portland, Oregon is an American city on the west coast. Not too big, not too small, but just right for a big rural state on the edge of the North American continent. (Think top left corner of America. That’s Seattle. Everybody knows Seattle. Portland is down from there.) For an extra reminder, […]
ENGLISH GIRLS ON D-DAY
June 6, 2020 by
English girls and young women got engaged during WWII, some more than once. My English mother in law had been engaged several times. I asked her about it.
WORLD LEADER: A SHORT HISTORY OF SUCCESS
April 13, 2020 by
Who is the top world leader in history? It doesn’t take a history degree from a drive-by college like Portland State to make the call, but it doesn’t hurt. Deciding who is the world leader favorite takes a long view of the past. Try not to throw a name on the wall and see if […]
WHY AMERICAN MILITARY ARE STATIONED IN GERMANY AND JAPAN
January 30, 2020 by
My sources say over 33,000 US military personnel live in Germany, and 50,000 in Japan when their census came in in 2013. I’m part of the chorus asking, “Why?” Then I remember WWII.
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 […]
HOPEFUL PEOPLE ARE HELPFUL PEOPLE
November 14, 2019 by
I can’t agree with the conflict between millennials and baby boomers. That’s not what hopeful people do. You won’t agree either by the end of this post. I’ll start at the boomer beginning and go forward from there. You’re going to read some uncomfortable truths, but they’ll make sense and smooth out by the end.
OK BOOMER: THE SIXTIES FINALLY EXPLAINED
November 4, 2019 by
When did the 60’s begin in Portland? Don’t bother looking at a calendar for an answer. You won’t find a starting date. Younger people who aren’t so young any more see the 60’s as a boomer blast. It was the one party they missed, a special time for spoiled children to throw themselves a party […]
HISTORY BEGINNER: COMMON BASICS FROM UNCOMMON BLOGGER
October 15, 2019 by
Long stories blur into each other the more they’re told. Eventually a common thread emerges. I’m a history beginner, you’re a history beginner, we all be history beginners. If you don’t agree, then visit a new place, a place where you don’t speak the language, a place with different food, where you essentially throw yourself […]
DO BABY BOOMERS ASK FOR TOO MUCH
August 6, 2019 by
Depending on who you ask, baby boomers are either a blessing or a curse. Once we were the bundle of joy for parents coming back from The Big One, WWII. Their babies were the complete opposite of what had happened the past five years in Europe and the Pacific where injury and death were common. […]
Millennial History Break: WWII-era
August 22, 2018 by
It’s been a long time since history delivered WWII. A long time to learn what happened, too. But not all are interested in the lessons of WWII, particularly the death camps where those deemed undesirable by the German authorities were warehoused until further notice. Further notice was death for six million […]
