People Out Loud: Meet Henry…. Despite best efforts – I’m just his second best friend

September 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on People Out Loud: Meet Henry…. Despite best efforts – I’m just his second best friend

He loves unconditionally. He grazes incessantly. What is his is his, and what is yours is his. He can eat a full meal yet want your tuna sandwich immediately after scarfing down a bowl of yummy food. When he puts ...

A Grin at the End: My dear, departed brother – From Mayberry to the Grand Canyon

September 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on A Grin at the End: My dear, departed brother – From Mayberry to the Grand Canyon

When he was 12, my brother Paul had a knack for comedy. He could do a spot-on impersonation of Andy Griffith, who got his start in show business as a stand-up comedian before starring on television in The Andy Griffith ...

People Out Loud: Memories – And memories in the making

August 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on People Out Loud: Memories – And memories in the making

I secretly wished that Olivia Newton-John was singing her mega-hit, I Honestly Love You to me when it was released in 1974. Stationed at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas, I found her breathy rendition of that song made ...

A Grin at the End: Northwest passage – Strange things are done in the midnight sun

July 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on A Grin at the End: Northwest passage – Strange things are done in the midnight sun

Just got back from Alaska. I hadn’t been in the Great White North for 27 years, and I was anxious to see how things had changed. As it turned out, not much. Alaska was, is and continues to be a whole different ...

People Out Loud: Reflections – A few insights after 40 years as a columnist

July 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on People Out Loud: Reflections – A few insights after 40 years as a columnist

A friend of mine came to our class reunion last summer and handed me a column I had written sometime ago, dated July of 1980, 42 years ago. I started writing a column then called, “Rap-Up” for the Silverton Appeal. ...

A Grin at the End: Heroes – Reminders of the past

June 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on A Grin at the End: Heroes – Reminders of the past

I live in a neighborhood populated by heroes. I’m not talking about Spandex-wearing, pumped-up guys and gals appearing soon at a multiplex near you. I am talking about everyday heroes. The kind of people who pulled their weight in life and ...

Letter to the Editor: Schools need more security, not gun bans

June 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on Letter to the Editor: Schools need more security, not gun bans

Here are my thoughts on the recent Silver Falls school board decision to reject the proposed ban on concealed carry. They made the correct decision, albeit just barely.  The school shootings epidemic deserves more than just a symbolic band aid. This ...

People Out Loud: Confessions of a dasher – Bring the food, hold the judgment

June 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on People Out Loud: Confessions of a dasher – Bring the food, hold the judgment

Editor’s note: Dixon Bledsoe invited a guest columnist for this month. Silverton resident Joel Autry shares a story...  When I embarked upon the side hustle of door dashing, I expected to bolster my own personal bottom line. It turns out there ...

A Grin at the End: Everything I ever needed to know – I learned from Top Gun

May 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on A Grin at the End: Everything I ever needed to know – I learned from Top Gun

Like many 20-year-olds, I am prime-time in love with the movie Top Gun. I always have been and the fact that a sequel just came out has made my year. It is my nominee for Best Movie of the Year ...

People Out Loud: Three originals – Rest in peace, friends

May 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists, People | Comments Off on People Out Loud: Three originals – Rest in peace, friends

When I first conceived the idea for this column, many years ago, it was first and foremost centered on talking about people – living, dying, laughing, crying, and doing the things they do. Today, it is about people dying and ...

A Grin at the End: Finally ready – Nadine’s gift

April 2022 Posted in Obituary, Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on A Grin at the End: Finally ready – Nadine’s gift

“I’m ready to die,” she said, turning her head toward the apartment window. I looked at my mother-in-law, Nadine Stack, not knowing what to say. This was three years ago, and at age 97 she was in good health and still ...

A Slice of the Pie: Passcode predicament – Lessons learned the (almost) hard way

April 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on A Slice of the Pie: Passcode predicament – Lessons learned the (almost) hard way

Sometimes the best life lessons happen when things take a turn for the worst. That’s what happened last month when I forgot to charge my cell phone before driving my daughter to a gymnastics meet in Hillsboro.  I initially believed my ...

A Grin at the End: Good to go! – GoPros and crawdads

March 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on A Grin at the End: Good to go! – GoPros and crawdads

Some if you may know that I’ve been having close encounters of the medical kind during the last few months. And, no, it wasn’t COVID. It was really nothing super serious, although, for the first time in my life, my doctor ordered ...

People Out Loud: Mouse ears – A Disney adventure proves the power of branding – ca-chink!

March 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on People Out Loud: Mouse ears – A Disney adventure proves the power of branding – ca-chink!

I used to think the number one branded company in the world involved Golden Arches or a Swoosh. No more. Not even a close race, like Usain Bolt versus me in the 100 meters. Disney is so far out in ...

A Grin at the End: Are you ready to be a citizen? – Just get six right

February 2022 Posted in Opinion / Columnists | Comments Off on A Grin at the End: Are you ready to be a citizen? – Just get six right

I was reading The Wall Street Journal the other day and my heart sank. No, I wasn’t looking at my mutual funds and how they have fallen through the floorboards in the last couple of months. That’s a whole other ...