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OFF THE HOOK IN GOLDEN YEARS?

June 8, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

As the golden years of retirement stretch out before you there are a few things to keep in mind. Probably more than ten line items, but this is a start. You don’t have to agree with any of them, but pick and choose in any order. I’ll start:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, cooking, education, family, fitness, food, GOLDEN YEARS, history, kids, kitchen, learning, married, mental stimulation, millennials, music, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, recipe, relax, social interaction, Social media, sports, story, twitter, volunteer, wife, workout, writer, writers, writing

END PRODUCT IS WHAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT, NOT PRACTICE

June 7, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

‘End Product’ is another way of saying, “What have you done lately?” We pay to go to concerts, games, and races. We don’t pay to go to practice rooms, weight rooms, or interval track training, the stuff done before the end product. Buy a ticket for an event and you expect a competent performance? Sounds […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, basketball court, being smart, being strong, better, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, Coos Bay, education, end, end product, keep practicing, marshfield high school, musical instruments, Oregon, organized noise, people care, practice, practicing, product, story, wife, writer, writers, writing

HISTORICAL ACCURACY? IMPORTANT, OR NOT

June 6, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

I’m a fan of historical accuracy, of a story that stands up to scrutiny not opinion, My feeling is that the people involved in historical events deserve the decency of applied history. How to apply history? It’s all about the sources.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: accuracy, applied history, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, casual killing, D-Day, decisive leaders, dismissive death, education, family, historical, historical accuracy, history, history sources, Internet, leaders, learning, married, opinion, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, respect, scrutiny, settled history, Social media, story, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing, WWII

MAKING THE CANCER CALL 2026

June 5, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Ten years ago I got the cancer call. Me: Hello. Doc: Are you sitting down? Me: Yes. (I was in the bathroom.) Doc: The tests came back. You have cancer. Me: That’s not good.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, cancer, cancer call, cancer patients, cancer terror, clinic, doctor, education, learning, medicaid, medical, medicare, medicine, mental health, miracles, modern medicine, physical health, story, stunned disbelief, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing

OPENING NIGHT AT THE ROSE GARDEN

June 4, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

I watched the Rose Garden, home to your Portland Trail Blazers, rise up on the Northeast bank of the mighty Willamette River. From opening night until now it’s been . . . thirty-one years? As long as the Memorial Coliseum stands, the Rose Garden will always be the new kid on the block. And now […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, BLAZERS, history, Michael Jordan, Moda Center, NBA, Oregon, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Rose Garden, Portland Trail Blazers, Rose Garden, shonz, story, Trail Blazers, travel, twitter, wife, winner, winning, writer, writers, writing

A LIFE CELEBRATION

June 3, 2026 by David Gillaspie 6 Comments

Remember the guy who took shooting pool to a whole ‘nother level? Who knew where to find a good table and fifty cent beers? That was Rob Brown in Eugene when we went to UofO. While he had a drive to succeed, he knew how to take a break. In that sense he was a […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: life celebration

RETIREMENT WARNINGS FOR BOOMERS IN THE FAST LANE

June 3, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

You’re in the fast lane and know it when you pull up on a Waymo car. Waymo has named the Rose City as one of the next locations welcoming its own fleet of self-driving vehicles. As part of the announcement, the company revealed it will start manually operating the cars on Tuesday to “help […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: acid dropping freaks, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blog, blogger, boomerpdx, cars, classic cars, fast lane, hippies, hobbies, life, MARRIAGE, married, mobility, Oldsmobile, Oregon, retire, retirement hobbies, retirement warnings, retirement window, retiring, the future, travel, Waymo, wife, writer, writers, writing

ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR REMINDER FROM VETERANS ADMINISTRATION MAILER

June 2, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

As a veteran of the President Gerald Ford Army of 1974-76, I feel I know what acceptable behavior is without a reminder from the Veteran’s Administration in 2026. I knew the program way before joining the Army. Where did I gain such valuable information? The Boy Scouts. This all rings true from Acceptable Behaviors listed […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: acceptable behavior, Army veteran, Baby Boomer blogger, behavior, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boy scouts, Death, education, fitness, harassment, history, honoring differences, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, respecting others, scout law, scouts, Social media, story, the troops, uncomfortable situations, veterans' administration, writer, writers, writing

MAKING PROGRESS WITH GRAND DECKS

June 1, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Making progress on a deck doesn’t look like this, but the ending does. Inspector dog agrees. Three picture framed sections? Check. Boards fastened without anything showing? Check. Railing is sturdy? Check. But what did it look like before?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: architect, artist, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, builders, building, education, engineer, facebook, grand decks, history, making progress, millennials, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, progress, story, wife, writer, writers, writing, youtube

FENDER TELECASTER, MORE THAN A FEELING

May 31, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Playing notes and chords on a Fender Telecaster is an act of history. Even more if it’s a butterscotch Tele. Why? Because it has a legacy. It’s an historical artifact, a throwback, brought up to date every year. Playing one puts you in the legacy no matter how long, whether from 1950 to yesterday. But […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: boomer blogger, boomerpdx, dreams, family, fender, fender guitar, fender telecaster, historical legacy, history, hopes, kids, legacy, MARRIAGE, millennials, music, Oregon, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, story, telecaster, telecaster guitar, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing

END PRODUCT IS WHAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT, NOT PRACTICE

MAKING THE CANCER CALL 2026

OPENING NIGHT AT THE ROSE GARDEN

A LIFE CELEBRATION

RETIREMENT WARNINGS FOR BOOMERS IN THE FAST LANE

MAKING PROGRESS WITH GRAND DECKS

FENDER TELECASTER, MORE THAN A FEELING

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