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OPENING NIGHT AT THE ROSE GARDEN

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 it’s old and tired?
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A LIFE CELEBRATION

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 host who understood how to pull people together.
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RETIREMENT WARNINGS FOR BOOMERS IN THE FAST LANE

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 familiarize the Waymo Driver with Portland’s distinct streetscapes — from its iconic bridges to its bustling, rain-slicked corridors.”

 

I saw this rig in town and thought, ‘The future has arrived.’
Who is ready for the future? Baby boomers are ready.
Sort of?
[Read More…]

ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR REMINDER FROM VETERANS ADMINISTRATION MAILER

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 on the mailer:
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MAKING PROGRESS WITH GRAND DECKS

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?
[Read More…]

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toughen up

RESPECT WOMEN IF YOU RESPECT YOURSELF

It’s hard to respect women, or anyone, unless you respect yourself.   Find a mirror and give it a hard look while you’re in front of it. Do you respect the image reflected back? If not, get to work. You’ve heard this saying, “You say you respect someone if you can’t say you like them.” […]

BREAST CANCER: A MOTHER JONES FACEBOOK POST ASKS IF ALCOHOL IS A CAUSE. WHAT ARE OTHER CANCER CAUSES?

    From motherjones.com:   Susan Sontag once wrote that telling people about your cancer diagnosis tends to fill them with mortal dread. But when I’ve disclosed my illness to friends and told them that alcohol can cause breast cancer, I’ve never invoked enough mortal dread to deter anyone from ordering a second drink. Most women […]

MEDICAL MARIJUANA FOR A DOSE OF CANCER

    Medical marijuana? Isn’t that just an excuse to get loaded without consequences, like jail? That’s what Pat thinks. I caught a rather painful case of cancer and tried one oxy pill, and one nip of liquid oxy, which changed nothing.   Why would marijuana be different?   At a desperate moment I tried […]

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boomer years

WHY THE BIG DISCONNECT? CHINA AND AMERICA

If You Never Fix What’s Not Broken, You’re Not Looking Hard Enough. There’s A Big Break. China is the world’s factory. Everyone agrees. If you disagree, look at labels in the nearest big box store. It’s also leading, or mentioned, in other categories too. Human rights, pollution, the usuals. Sometimes it’s a thin line between […]

MOTORCYCLE HOODLUM GRANDPA, EARLY WWII ANGEL

  One enchanted evening the man on the hog met a woman at a USO dance. He saw her across a crowded room. They married just before he shipped out to the Pacific Theater of Operations, PTO.   Score for a motorcycle hoodlum, but he was the least motorcycle hoodlum on the road.   He […]

PARADE MAGAZINE FOR BOOMERS?

Sunday’s issue of Parade Magazine is full of gift ideas. Boomers, just look at ads instead. You open the Sunday Oregonian, or the big newspaper in your city, and the cover features ‘the hottest stuff to give and get.’ How hot? Scarves, socks, hats that will keep you warm in the chilly winter. But those […]

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buckle up

LOVE IN THE TIME OF TACOMA

One sure measure of a city on the way up is the people who move there. When the smart crowd shows up, things change. Of course it takes more than intelligence. It also takes commitment and patience. Combine intelligence, commitment, and patience in newly weds who choose to make Tacoma their home, and the fuse […]

HIKING BABY BOOMER PORTLAND, pt. 2

An incredible part of the city is feeling like you’re never far from the woods. There’s always a clearing, a trail to follow. And it feels safe enough to dive right in there. On a Friday I stopped on SW Terwilliger in between appointments. This is the road on the side of the hill below […]

HISTORY ROAD CHALLENGES FROM BOOMERPDX

The current state of history road challenges. Westies, people living beyond the Mississippi, and beyond the Great Divide in the Rockies, live with problems of modern America, along with the rash of chain stores you can’t escape. If a town like Staunton, Virginia, like most towns in Virginia, have centuries of history behind them, why […]

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