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CHANGING FACES FOR CHANGING TIMES

Peace and friendship are the right ingredients for changing times and what goes better with it than a dangerous looking beard?
If you’ve never had one hanging off your face, if you’re a woman or a light shaver, a dangerous looking beard sends a message.
One beard message is, “This man is too busy thinking about important things, too important to waste time pulling a razor blade across their face.”
The other message:
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DANG GREEN ON OREGON FOOTBALL GAME DAY

Dang Green started strong for Oregon football on Saturday with six big boys left in the Safeway cooler.
All six in the cart? Check.
It felt like a good omen with three fans watching the game together from the same place.
I’ll do the math: Two each.
Wrapped in a game worn Oregon Duck shirt inherited from one of the biggest Duck fans ever, another good omen, the pre-game began to wind down.
The problem wasn’t the Dang Green or the three official plaid Duck shirts we all wore. It was worse:
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THE NORTH BEND OF COOS BAY

Who saw this messy map and thought, “That’s where I’m going?”
My parents, apparently.
This is where they raised their family.
I asked the old man, who had grown up in a logging company town, whose hometown was tougher, his or mine?
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GARDEN PARTY REMINISCING

Remember your first garden party when you invited people over to the house to see what you planted, what you’ve grown?
It’s a touching moment to behold after years of planning.
You build a raised bed like the picture here, and buy plants you just know will grow.
And they did.

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“CALLS OUT” PUT ‘ON THE SPOT’

What does “calls out” mean other than another way of saying “Hey You?”
““Why Do You Have To Leave Practice?”: Michael Irvin Calls Out Justin Herber.””
If you’re ‘calling someone out’ it’s most likely about something that’s none of your business.
Calls Out = Nosey Nellie? For example:

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toughen up

MAKE NEW NORMAL BETTER THAN OLD NORMAL? THAT’S THE NEW JOB

    I’ll never to get used to hearing about the ‘new normal,’ which is a pretty common topic after cancer treatment. “How is your new normal?” I’ve heard. “Do you miss the things you can’t do anymore?” I’ve heard. What’s the right answer? There is no right answer, but the questions ought to serve […]

TRAUMA NATION AMERICA IN 10 POINTS

Is America The Leader In The Race To The Top Of Trauma? 10 Reasons For Yes On Trauma Nation America. Recent research shows DNA passes down trauma markers from parents to kids. That means if a father suffers a traumatic event his DNA adapts and gets installed in his children. It could be a good […]

WHAT PEOPLE NEED AND WHAT THEY DON’T SAY

What people need is a break from their trials.   An old joke goes like this: How do you catch a unique rabbit? You ‘nique up on it. How do you catch a tame rabbit? The tame way, you ‘nique up on it. It’s pretty funny if it’s the only joke of the week. More […]

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boomer years

PORTLAND HEAT: HOW TO CELEBRATE BREAKING RECORDS

    Last August one of my partners in crime (aka one of my sons) and I worked on inventory inside a few Arizona warehouses in record breaking heat. At least it broke the record for heat outside a sauna.   Yesterday’s record breaking heat was about thirty five degrees cooler, which was a nice […]

THE WAY WE WERE, THE WAY WE’LL BE

“In a way, he was like the country he lived in. Things came too easily to him.” In more than one way, Hubbell was like the soft handed little liberals who’ve always had it too easy, wouldn’t you say? They always know what’s best for everyone else while they carry on their dark secrets. Well, the […]

SEX, DRUGS, AND ROCK AND ROLL. OR JUST DRUGS

How To Live Next To A Heroin House. A move to the suburbs in most cities means a move away from drugs and crime. Not Portland, Oregon. My inner eastside apartment was too dangerous for a young family. Houses had metal barred windows and bad yards. The juice was never changing. It was a bad […]

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buckle up

WOODEN BOATS, EARTH DAY, DEPOE BAY, OREGON CRAB. AND BEER

What do you call fooling around with wooden boats? Fun. That’s what Ratty says: “There is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. In or out of ’em, it doesn’t matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that’s the charm of it. Whether you get away, or […]

LEARNING FROM WHERE YOU LIVE, PT.1: NORTH BEND

    Ask the North Bend question. In a reflective moment that soon passed, I asked my Dad which of us grew up in a rougher town. I felt certain he’d say his town, Ryderwood. Ryderwood was a logging camp town, a company town with a company store. The one thing all logging company towns […]

BOOMER TRAVEL: GO IT ALONE?

The Benefits Of Single Boomer Travel Are Many, Even If You’re Married? Good reasons to travel as a couple include shared experience above all. There’s a bond that occurs between a husband and wife traveling together. Pictures and video don’t tell the story. Neither does a diary or a narrative recounting. The glee and spirit […]

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