Two perspectives on two Portlands
The Pittock Mansion exemplifies the degree of wealth that still typifies the highest income earners who call the Portland area home. Today it is a museum and a popular tourist destination.
This homeless shelter, made from a tarp and many other makeshift materials, is one of dozens one sees along underpasses and in greenbelts in Portland.

I had thoughts of developing a blog devoted exclusively to the divisions I see in Portland, where the professional and monied class have lives as radically different from those at the bottom as did the nobility of France prior to the collapse of the Old Regime in the late 1700s–a topic I studied at great length back in college. I am stil not sure what the point would be. I mean this is so obvious to everyone who lives here, what would I say and show that is new. So with that on my mind, I share two of the most commonly observed images one has that define the Portland I see all the time.

These two homes are actually less than 1.5 miles apart, as the crow flies. The homeless shed is one of many one sees, everywhere under the freeways and in green zones and transportation corridors and downtown. The Pittock Mansion is the crown jewel of the postcard Portland the city likes to beam out to the world. From this former home-turned-museum, one has a grand view of Mt. Hood, the shipyards, and downtown Portland. It is a beautiful place. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Surfing in the rain at Oswald beach, Oregon

Oswald West State Park is a popular surfing beach in northwest Oregon, south of the more upscale and popular Canon Beach. You will need a wet suit, as we are talking water that is always less than 60 F. The day I visited (Nov. 9, 2014), I saw a lot of novices and not a single clean ride. The ocean was choppy and the surf erratic. No one seemed to mind. Everyone was enjoying the vibe. You can see a bigger version of the video here.

The guy I never beat on the squash court
I took this photo at the Bollywood Theater, in Southeast Portland, of my old college friend who I haven’t seen in way too many years.

I had a great lunch recently with an old college friend and former squash partner. I don’t think I ever won a true squash match against J. when we played way, way back in the day in college. (There were some great players at my college, and J. was among them.) Some people are just naturally talented, and J. is a gifted athlete, among many having other fine attributes. My knee prevents me from doing pivot sports, which spares me the need to try and have a rematch. Injuries sometimes can be a blessing. So can good people.

Grant and Mt. Scott parks, Portland
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro

Portland, like many cities, has a lot of parks. Seen here are Grant Park and Mt. Scott Park. Portland’s parks have this almost eerie quality with Douglas firs and ultra green grass, manicured by Parks and Recreation Department staff. It is as if some great omnipotent being wanted to make a cross between an English garden and a Pacific Northwest forest, and plop it in a city. That is what they feel like to me. I like them. So do residents, who approved a big bond levy on Nov. 4 to pay for improvements.  (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Fall and fog in Portland, Oregon
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.

It was a foggy, cool, and beautiful day (Friday, Nov. 7), here in the Northwest. The colors on the oaks and maples have been spectacular, and I brought my GoPro camera on a trip to and from the swimming pool. I took these along the way, through the Woodstock, Mt. Scott, and Eastmoreland neighborhoods. I’m a sucker for color and foilage every time. What is not to like about nature doing its natural thing? (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

The Vespa mural in northwest Portland
A GoPro’s perspective on the Vespa mural (October 2014).
A GoPro’s perspective on the Vespa mural (October 2014).

In northwest Portland, on NW Vaughn Street and NW 23rd Street, the Vespa dealership partnered with mural artist Larry Kangas to create a 10-feet high and 65-feet long mural that celebrates neighborhoods and the Vespa’s connection to Italy. It is known mostly as the Vespa mural. I love murals. They transform urban spaces into a living shared meeting place. You cannot miss this mural if you take Interstate 405 to the west side of the Willamette and exit at Vaughn Street. And there it is. I suggest parking your car, grabbing a coffee, and taking a closer look. (Click on each photograph to see a larger photograph.)

Temecula, Calif., a suburb in the desert

I visited Temecula in September and enjoyed myself. I could not imagine living here, but people love all that sun. It is a brutally hot place, and yet even amid the worst drought ever, lawns are green and everything looks like the Midwest, if you ignore the thermometer and the rock and scrub mountains that surround it. Probaby a few Beaver and Wally Cleavers live here. You cannot survive here or function without a car. Period.

St. Patrick Catholic Church, Portland
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken in October 2014.

It is not a happy day given the elections that saw virtually unchecked amounts of unregulated and mostly corporate cash sway electoral outcomes in my country. So, I have decided to publish some peaceful pictures of a peaceful place, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, in the now up-and-coming area north of Chinatown, practically underneath Interstate 405. I have seen this church for decades and was amazed it had not been torn down and converted to, oh, say a parking lot or bland building. Finally, I decided to pay a visit to the church two weeks ago. It looks like it barely clung to life as the interstate highway juggernaut ripped apart neighborhoods across the country, including in Portland–roads that i use daily, I might add. Dating from 1889, St. Patrick is the oldest Catholic church in Portland. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Portland’s industrial landscapes
This shot was taken just below Portland’s Fremont Bridge, in Northeast Portland.
Fuel storage and trucks line the Willamette River in Northwest Portland.

Portland seems to be associated with Nike, Portlandia, Intel, and hipsters in the national imagination. But for those of us who live here, the city itself tells a story of international shipping, truck manufacturing, rail traffic, shipbuilding, and other heavy industries. And still, this Portland never seems to make a blip on the national consciousness. Well, here are a couple of pictures of the Portland I see every day.

A long journey ends in La Jolla, on the Pacific’s golden shores

Some things take time … a long, long, long time. Timing requires great patience, and also knowing when to act. In life, lucky is the person who can be both patient and know when to act. I am very, very lucky.

In late September 2014, I celebrated, here, at La Jolla Beach, the place I had come 25 years earlier, when this chapter of my odyssey began. I will forever have an endearing attachment to this place. It was here where I finally felt what I had long wanted.