Category Archives: Uncategorized

Why Live Music Keeps Me Alive

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Jim Blackwood Jr

I saw my first live rock show at 13 years old. In 1968, my mom dropped my buddy Gregg and I at the fair grounds so we could see Iron Butterfly. The opening act, from San Francisco, was called Floating … Continue reading →

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What Congress Can Do About Guns…Now!

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Jim Blackwood Jr

We have all seen this before. Right? Predictable violence against innocents followed by thoughts and prayers. Grieving people build shrines of flowers and balloons and painted signs. All of the news networks put their anchors on sleek Gulfstream 5 jets … Continue reading →

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Portland City Hall: It’s the System Stupid

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Jim Blackwood Jr

Portland City government is badly broken but not in the way that some people think. The public servants in City Hall work hard in a world of constraints, endless demands and never enough money or time to meet outsized expectations. … Continue reading →

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It Was My Hand

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Jim Blackwood Jr

  We flew down on my birthday. The funeral was the next morning. There are few things as consistently lovely as the Southern California weather in November. We had to be at the staging area at exactly 11:31 AM. Not … Continue reading →

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Sticks and Stones…

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Jim Blackwood Jr

Today, George W. Bush made the case against the rise of Trumpism. I don’t doubt the fact that Bush is a genuine patriot deeply concerned about the state of our republic. While I could go into a “lying sack of … Continue reading →

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The Road Taken — My Second Act

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Jim Blackwood Jr

When I take breaks from playing and working outdoors, I find myself streaming The West Wing on Netflix. Besides my fantasy of living in an Aaron Sorkin world where everyone is wicked smart and funny with heads brimming with useful … Continue reading →

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An Evening in Pickleandia

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Jim Blackwood Jr

If you are ever a little down because so much about Portland has become big and confusing, head out to Lents Park, out beyond 82nd Avenue, to a sweet little place called Walker Stadium. The demise of the Portland Beavers … Continue reading →

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The 65th Anniversary Celebration

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Jim Blackwood Jr

Today is my parents’ 65th wedding anniversary. I wish I could say it was a day of unfettered celebration but for my family it is a day of reflection and some sadness. You see, my mother is in the final … Continue reading →

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The Mental Illness All Around You

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Jim Blackwood Jr

For most of my adult life I have lived with Panic Disorder. It’s natural for folks who hear that to immediately cross-reference to their own lives. They think of a time they were very afraid or very anxious and, bless … Continue reading →

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The Problem with Portland’s Lawn Sign

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Jim Blackwood Jr

Dog walking around my neighborhood I see dozens of Portland’s favorite lawn sign. It must have a generic, shorthand name known but to a few. I ain’t the few. There was a time when I was a Unitarian. I enjoyed … Continue reading →

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