I’ve written recently about finding a long-lost friend in an unlikely way, via his son’s photo on a Facebook page. Now comes word that the son — singer, songwriter, and aspiring actor — will soon release his first CD. His father and I have exchanged emails since making contact in September and pledged to meet […]
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Four years ago on Election Day, I saw the face of voter intimidation. It belonged to a tall thick-chested man standing outside the elections office in Portland. He glowered at the people waiting in line, looking them over head to toe. He was among Republicans dispatched to “protect” us against voter fraud. Of course there […]
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My periscope breaches the surface in Northeast Portland and takes in the outside world: Larry the trash hauler introduces himself when he sees me photographing the Halloween decorations on his truck, which blocks my car on NE 11th Avenue. Until now we’ve been on a wave only basis. Larry poses for the camera and without […]
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A new video making the rounds on YouTube updates the famously funny “Wassup” commercial, using the same actors but in scenes of grim poignancy. Instead of hawking beer, they show the travails afflicted upon the citizenry during the last eight years. What once made us laugh has turned tragic. The video reminded me of a […]
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“Literature is written on her body — 597 words of love and passion.” That’s how I described Tasia Bernie in a story I wrote for The Oregonian last month. I first met Tasia at the gym where we both work out. I asked her about the tattooed words circling her body like a vine, which […]
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Consider me an accidental archeologist of urban blight. No academic journal will record my find yesterday during a trek through part of Portland where I don’t normally walk. But the thrill of discovery is reward enough. I was retrieving my car, in the shop for overdue maintenance. I turned onto NE Everett off Grand after […]
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In the throes of cardio exercise, the senses heighten. I guess it’s the endorphin rush. How else to explain the gym scene around me: twenty-five people on various pieces of fitness equipment suddenly appearing to move in choreographed rhythm to the Fleet Foxes blaring in my ear buds. The scene jars me from whatever world […]
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The first time I walked by a house today, a cat gave me the evil eye. It was perched in a window next to a Halloween tombstone. I imagined the cat scanning the most private recesses of my brain and feeding off the dark thoughts hiding there. Several hours later, I passed the house again, […]
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Assumptions are dangerous. That maxim was drilled into me years ago as a newbie journalist. But I’m not writing a news story. I’m speculating about a man at the school park up the street. He was sitting at a table, alone, surrounded by squealing kids and watchful parents. My son, Atticus, was playing nearby on […]
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