Even a Judo Expert …

Belgian Judo competitor Dirk Van Tichelt won a bronze medal in the Olympics contest. That evening he went to celebrate at Copacabana Beach. He came back with a black eye after being assaulted on Rio’s famous shoreline. He lost a cell phone, but not his medal … or his smile.

Van-Tichelt

The New Oregon Trail

ColGorge_2000x1000_v2The Columbia River Gorge is the lowest-elevation route to get across the Cascade Mountains. Settlers following the Oregon Trail rafted down the river from The Dalles. It was dangerous, expensive too. Interstate 84 transports modern-day emigrants the eighty-some miles from The Dalles to Portland in about an hour and a half. (Of course, some modern-day émigrés do it in less time.)

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The Happy Place to Buy

tom_petersons.0Big Time Wrestling – also known as Portland Wrestling – was a staple of Portland’s late-night TV for four decades. It went off the air in December 1991 despite being the highest-rated, locally produced show in the Portland television market. Its demise was a result of the bankruptcy of its main sponsor, “Tom Peterson’s” furniture and electronics stores. Tom Peterson died last month at age eighty-six.

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