Two loose pygmy goats briefly boarded a public transit bus instead of a train in Portland, Oregon, on Tuesday morning, August 11, 2026. The animals hopped onto a TriMet FX2 bus at Southeast 162nd Avenue and Division Street before wandering off toward a nearby shopping center.
He is a better writer than I with a completely different style. We have had dinner often and I learn a lot from him. He had the audacity to move to the East Coast. 😀
He is far more disciplined and structured than me, which is not my style. There’s something to be learned there. We both support each other in our journeys as writers. We do have a book coming out in the near future in a genre I’m just learning about.
My Friend Shawn
He’s one of the more creative people I know. He published about a half dozen books and I’ve read about half of them. He attended our Book Club once and it was a great discussion. We also run together and drink beer together.
Uncanny Valley
My other friend Sean
We’ve sat together at Portland Timbers soccer matches for so many years. I didn’t even know he was an author. He has a book coming out of September and it makes me gush with enthusiasm..
Sean’s upcoming novel.
Kate Kort
And another author who made it to our book club. I know her husband well as we’ve done tours of Portland looking for the perfect pinball machine. She’s written three novels, and I served as a reader for two of them.
Kate’s first novel
I’ve learned a lot from these people. When I used to be a decent long-distance runner, I always ran with people who were faster than I. This is not that much different
I learn from them not only as artists but as empathetic human beings.
I have always been a music person. I don’t listen to music for nostalgic reasons often. Yes I do it on occasion. I have a playlist called Delta Avenue, named after the street I grew up on.
I digress.
I remember really liking Steely Dan as a teen. It seemed fresh, cutting edge and intelligent. Naturally, I avoided the mainstream, so I thought. I remember driving across the Chesapeake Bay bridge tunnel, listening to “My Old School”as I headed to grad school at the college of William and Mary. Many years before that, I have fond memories of “Riki” playing on our bi-annual trips to the Fenwick Island.. I rather loved Steely Dan.
Then I didn’t listen to them for thirty years or so.
And here I sit, not for nostalgic reasons, rather listening to see if the music withstands the test of time.
I don’t know, it is worth the listen but it isn’t as cutting edge as first envisioned. Or maybe I am having a bad night. Still, it is worth the revisit.
