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WORKING TOGETHER IN THE BEAVER STATE

A call for working together won’t make you a homer, a weakling, or manager. For now, let’s say it’s a call to ‘police up’ your area, clean up your mess. Do you know about policing up your area? It’s not about giving yourself a police badge.

DISPLACED WORKERS ‘RETIRED’ FROM OLD JOBS

Displaced workers retire? From what? Ask a Coos Bay logger about it, or a Charleston commercial fisherman. What did they retire from? Getting jacked around by new ideas on sustainability.

BOOMER MISTAKES TO CLEAN UP

Baby boomer mistakes? What mistakes? In some circles everything boomer related is a mistake. This isn’t that circle. Instead, I’ll look at common mistakes and regrets to avoid. This is for younger generations.

COLLEGE DANCE IN HIGH SCHOOL, 1972

A college dance had a special allure to high school kids. We were high school homers in 1972; the college was Southwestern Oregon Community College, or: SWOCC. The campus was in Coos Bay, Oregon, a city of mystery and sawdust. I’d never been to a college dance, but I was a high school junior and […]

PERSONAL RIVALRIES? WE ALL HAVE THEM

Personal rivalries started early and close to home. We had kids down the street who challenged us to rock fights, tree house building, and dogs. And they won every time. It set me up for a lifetime of personal rivalries.

LEAVING PORTLAND IN 1974

Leaving Portland in 1974 was quite memorable. Memorable departures usually have a location in mind. I was headed to Fort Ord, California and the All-Volunteer Army on September 6, 1974. What was I thinking?

LIVING TOGETHER, DYING TOGETHER, RIDING THE WAVE

Living together doesn’t always mean living under the same roof. The same goes for dying together. When we lose someone close, we lose a little bit of ourselves. But we never lose the shared memories. This is one of them:

DRAWING LINES TO LIVE BY?

Who is drawing lines to live by? Picasso did. Unfortunately, you’re no Picasso, I’m no Picasso, so why bother? We bother with lines and borders for a sense of control like, “Don’t go there, girlfriend.” The big Question Of The Day: Who draws borders when they’re on the same side of the line you’re on?

CONFIDENT MEN ON THEIR SPECIAL DAYS

Confident men gain more confidence at each milestone. Eventually some become over-confident men. It’s gets worse in middle-aged men and settles into the murky waters of wtf in senior men. That’s a picture of the seniors on their football team. Not the same senior as old guys. Building confident men starts early.

TAKE MY WIFE, PLEASE. OR ELSE

When Henny Youngman said, “Take my wife. Please,” did he jump up and slap himself? Did his wife take a swing at him? When a joke goes bad, bad enough to get clocked, it’s hard for us to understand. Especially when the joker takes a smack from another funny guy who didn’t like the joke. […]