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PRICELESS GOLD YOU CAN’T BUY

Priceless gold nuggets from a 50th high school reunion? I had it checked out. They looked at the front, the back, turned it over. “How much,” I asked?

LEAVING TOWN? GOING HOME? NOT EXACTLY

Leaving town is one thing. It’s different for everyone. How different? Some never come back. But we all carry parts of town, growing up in a place, with us. Nothing shows it more than a high school reunion on the long side.

KOLOA SURPRISES KEEP HAPPENING? YES THEY DO

Koloa surprises are different than the usual Hawaiian happiness? As if Kauai island needs more to keep it interesting. No snakes, gators, or bugs are all a welcome surprise. But there’s more.

WHEN ‘OLDEN DAYS’ GET OLDER

My olden days started in 5th grade. It was a nice day in North Bend, Oregon. A little chilly, not that foggy, and just windy enough to spread your jacket out like wings and lean in to it. I skipped half the lunch recess outside and ducked into the grade school library. The door was […]

UNDERDOG LIFER STARTS EARLY

An underdog lifer life needs to start early, otherwise it’s just following trends. But how early? Top underdogs are never the first born, the first to start new things, or the first in line. If they were first, they wouldn’t be underdogs. Start with where you were raised.

ALPHA MALE OREGON TEST

The Oregon Alpha Male is a different breed. It’s more than dressing up in cool guy clothes and driving a fancy car. More than showing up at a public event and making a splashy entrance. Being an Oregon Alpha Male is more than appearance.

GROWING HOPE ON FALLOW LAND

Growing hope is my hope. Why? Because I like hopeful people. They do things I might try to do, go places I might like to go. In my work life I choose hope. Family life? I choose hope. Here’s now to grow hope in what feels like barren land.

DIVISION STREET, NOT DIVIDED PORTLAND

Division Street is not some hotbed of urban problems with people taking sides. In the southeast 30’s it’s a home stretch for Portland people moving to Oregon. Even better, it’s been a neighborhood, a changing neighborhood, for people who put down roots decades ago.

YOUR STORY DONE YOUR WAY; MY STORY IS RIGHT HERE

When you write your story, or tell it, or carve it into wood or stone, it’s your choice. For many baby boomers from the middle boomer aisle, not early or late boomers, the story includes things like: “We drank water from a garden hose, rode bikes without helmets, and ate everything on our plate.” I […]

HEALING PROCESS SECRET? STAY OUT OF THE WAY

I learned about the healing process early. The first fourteen years included two brothers, then a sister. My dad used to tell us to “quiet down, there’s a sick man in the hospital.” In North Bend, Oregon, the hospital was about a mile and a half from our house. We weren’t that noisy. After a […]