FROM THE WASHINGTON POST: “I THOUGHT I WAS HAVING AN ANXIETY ATTACK. IT WAS A ‘WIDOW-MAKER’”

The classic symptoms of a heart attack are chest pain and pressure, but they’re not the only red flags

This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

THIS IS THE FIRST OF A TWO-PART BLOG ON AN IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARY FOR ME, DECEMBER 1, 2004, A DAY I ALMOST DIED; THE SECOND POST WILL RECOUNT MY SITUATION

Apart from a few specific details, the headline and subhead in this blog could have been about me 19 years ago.

I borrowed them from a Washington Post story that ran a few days ago.  Here it is, as written by Mark Shavin.

**********

Error! Filename not specified.

My best friend is a retired emergency room doctor, and he has seen it all. Yet when I met him for a weekend walk recently and told him I wasn’t feeling well, he and I both attributed my symptoms to anxiety.

In reality, I was having a heart attack.

The classic symptoms of a heart attack are “chest pain and pressure that radiates to the left arm and jaw,” Grant Reed, an interventional cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, later told me.  But they’re not the only symptoms.

Error! Filename not specified.

“People can experience a range of symptoms that also include shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, and other symptoms.  Females and diabetics can have many of the symptoms other than discomfort,” Reed said.

That was the case for me.  On that recent fateful weekend, I told my friend I was anxious, attributing it to stress about my elderly mother’s health.  My breathing also felt shallow, and my left arm was numb.  But I didn’t have chest pain or pressure, nor was pain shooting down my arm.

As we began our walk through a park, my friend checked my pulse repeatedly.  It was steady, and he recommended measured breaths to help me relax.  I did as he instructed, but as we continued our walk, I couldn’t get a deep breath.  And after walking half a mile, I had to stop.

“We need to go to the hospital and have this checked out,” my friend said.  We turned around to walk back to where we parked, and I called my wife.  After a few minutes, I had to stop again.  Then, my friend noticed I was sweating profusely.  That tripped his alarm.

Error! Filename not specified.

I’m 66 years old, and 12 years ago, I had my first wake-up call when my doctor spotted an anomaly on a treadmill test during my routine physical.  Subsequently, a cardiologist placed two stents, or mesh coils, inside my arteries to keep them open and improve blood flow.

Walking has always been a respite for me, and for 15 years I’ve met my doctor buddy once a week for a stroll.  But on the day of my heart attack, I knew something wasn’t right.

As my symptoms worsened, my friend offered to summon an ambulance or to drive me to the hospital, but I was afraid to be alone while he went to get his car.  I texted my wife, and she arrived within minutes and rushed me to the emergency room, only four miles away.  My friend called ahead to alert them that I was coming, and yet, when I walked unsteadily into the hospital, the staff sat me down in a wheelchair in a line behind four other people.

“I’m having an emergency,” I said to a passing attendant.

“Everyone here is having an emergency,” he said and kept walking.

“You’ve got to get me help,” I told my wife, as my voice and breathing grew weaker.  She flew into action.

Error! Filename not specified.

The next thing I knew, the emergency room staff was slapping a defibrillator pad on my back.  Someone gave me an aspirin with a sip of water.  Someone else put a nitro-glycerin tablet under my tongue.  They pulled off my shirt and started to unfasten my shorts.  I grabbed at my underwear, clinging to a shred of modesty, but was rebuffed.

“Everything’s coming off, sir.”

Moments later, an electro-cardiogram revealed I was having a heart attack, and a nurse and an orderly propelled me on a stretcher down a series of hallways — ceiling lights flashing by at breakneck speed — to the cardiac catheterization lab, where imaging of my arteries revealed the total blockage of one of my previous stents.  A cardiologist cleared the obstruction and inserted a new stent inside the old one.

All of this happened on a Saturday.  While still recovering in the cath lab, 15 minutes after my procedure, I asked the cardiologist, who had just saved my life, if I could go back to teaching my college journalism classes on Monday.  He was incredulous.

“Don’t you understand you’ve had a heart attack?”

Error! Filename not specified.

I didn’t.  Nor did my wife until that moment.  In fact, it turned out I’d had a so-called widow-maker heart attack, in which the largest artery in the heart — the left anterior descending artery — is blocked.  That artery provides 50 per cent of the heart muscle’s blood supply, and “a widow-maker is immediately life-threatening,” the Cleveland Clinic says.  Mine was 100 per cent obstructed.

Cardiac arrest — when the heart stops — kills 300,000 to 450,000 people in the United States annually, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.  Reed told me later that the obstruction in my artery could have been fatal had my heart stopped, but that I was lucky.

“You also paid attention to your symptoms and were with someone who helped you get prompt medical attention,” he said.  “Some people either do not pay attention or don’t know enough to recognize the symptoms could be a heart attack and come in hours into their heart attack.”

In that case, Reed said, a lot of damage may already be done:  “Heart muscle function may not be restored even when you open up the artery. It’s important to seek medical attention early to keep the heart from being permanently injured.  We say, “Time is muscle,” he added.

Reed and my friend both noted that panic attacks often mimic heart attacks.  Shortness of breath is common to both.  Typically, though, panic attacks resolve in about 10 minutes, Reed said.  “Definitely seek medical attention if your symptoms do not resolve quickly. … The consequences of missing a heart attack can be very severe.”

“I think the only lesson to be learned is, if there is any doubt, have it checked out,” said my friend.

I am lucky to be alive — lucky, too, to have a devoted wife who rushed me to the hospital and, through her tears, reassured our three children that I was okay.  I am grateful to have a caring friend who sat with my wife in the hospital from the moment I was admitted.

After a few days, I left the hospital with a damaged but grateful heart.  But before my wife drove me home, I asked her to drive me back to the park.  I needed to see the spot where my life almost ended.  I needed to feel that eventually I could resume the healthy habits of my old life.

I know I need to make changes, particularly to reduce my stress.  I have started cardiac rehab, but I am also tending to my emotional well-being, the bouts of sadness, even despair, that are common after a heart attack.

I am looking at my life through a new lens, working hard to visualize a future that feels hopeful and worthy of the second chance I have been granted.  I have a long road ahead of me, but I won’t have to walk it alone.

WORDS MATTER ISSUES

This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

The Wall Street Journal used words the other day that illustrate its editors’ suspicion for the law and Washington Post writer Jennifer Rubin posted a column questioning polling in a presidential race this far from the election.

Both matters fit into my interest in words.

So, I decided to open one of the five departments I run with a free hand to manage as I see fit – the Department of Words Matter.  The others are the Department of Pet Peeves, the Department of Inquiring Minds Want to Know, the Department of Good Quotes Worth Remembering, and the Department of “Just Saying.”

ITEM #1/WHAT WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORS WROTE

“But Trump’s antagonists, instead of trying to defeat him politically, have unleashed the criminal justice system against him in every way possible.”

For me, the words that matter:  “Antagonists have unleased the criminal justice system.”

So, the Journal’s point is that antagonists are setting out to use the criminal justice system against Trump.  That’s the word “unleashed.”

I find that hard to believe.

My view:  Trump allegedly (note I use the word “allegedly” to verify that even Trump is innocent until proven guilty) has violated a huge panoply of laws and is now being held to account in court.  About time!

Opponents are not using the system to get Trump.  He and his minions have done that to themselves.

Of course – and incredibly, to me – Trump benefits from all this because, as he faces criminal charges that ought to shake him senseless as they would any other defendant, he simply turns those charges into a political benefit.  That was on view as Trump appeared in a New York court and tried to turn his time on the witness stand into just another political foray.

The judge tried to stop Trump, at least part of the time.

At rallies, in fundraising letters, and wherever he can find an attentive listener, the former president — who faces 91 felony charges, four criminal trials and, in the New York civil case, the prospect of a court-ordered dismantling of his financial empire — has taken up a new mantra: 

“They’re not after me; they’re after you,” said the headline plastered across the top of Trump’s campaign website when the New York trial began.  “I’m just standing in the way.”

COMMENT:  What appears above illustrates how much words matter.

ITEM #2/POLITICAL COVERAGE FROM JENNIFER RUBIN

“Last week,” Rubin writes, “demonstrated the sorry state of political coverage in this country.  The fixation on early, non-predictive polling and endless speculation that President Joe Biden might step away from the 2024 race (contrary to all evidence) created an endless cycle of frenzied coverage, none of it informative about democracy, the issues or the threat of an authoritarian regime in a second Trump presidency.

“No major American news outlet has been immune.

“Political coverage could be different.  Cover what is happening, including abortion rights organizing, job creation in the heartland, political activism among young people, internal migration’s effect on states, and demographic changes since 2020.  

News outlets could provide insight into campaign operations such as political organizing, message testing, and surrogate effectiveness.  That would be interesting.

“Americans deserve better. Our democracy needs better.”

COMMENT:  Rubin is right and I agree based on my background in journalism, albeit long ago. 

The focus on “horse race politics” – who’s ahead, etc. – gets old, especially at least a year in advance of the presidential election.

Rubin is writing about polling, but she uses good points to question whether polling matters any more – at least not as much as it once might have.

First, many persons who are called to participate often don’t want to do so…so they hang up.  Second, some persons who respond don’t answer honestly for who knows what reasons.  Third, some persons just are not paying attention and that argues against any notion that their responses mean much.

In my professional career, I worked with several excellent pollsters, including one who was a partner in the firm where I also was a partner.  He and others who did quality work worried a lot about at least three things – the timing of their work, using words that would be understandable to those who read or heard them, and striving for quality science.

Given today’s “get even” form of politics, journalists have a tough job to do, but, as an aspiration, I say, with Rubin, that they can do better.  So can pollsters.

THE ROOTS OF DONALD TRUMP’S RAGE THAT ILLUSTRATE MENTAL ILLNESS

This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

THIS IS THE SECOND IN A TWO-PART BLOG SERIES DOCUMENTING DONALD TRUMP’S VULGARITY

If you want more information about Donald Trump’s rage (not sure you or I do), just consider an essay from Thomas Edsall, who writes a weekly column from Washington, D.C. on politics, demographics, and inequality.

It contends that Trump’s actions illustrate that he is mentally ill.

Edsall’s newest effort appeared under this headline:  “The Roots of Trump’s Rage.”

Here is how the essay started.

“Brian Klaas, a political scientist at University College London, captured the remarkable nature of the 2024 presidential election in an October 1 essay, ‘The Case for Amplifying Trump’s Insanity.’

“Klaas argued that the presidential contest now pits a 77-year-old racist, misogynist bigot who has been found liable for rape, who incited a deadly, violent insurrection aimed at overturning a democratic election, who has committed mass fraud for personal enrichment, who is facing 91 separate counts of felony criminal charges against him, and who has overtly discussed his authoritarian strategies for governing if he returns to power, against an 80-year-old with mainstream Democrat Party views who sometimes misspeaks or trips.

“’One of those two candidates,’ Klaas noted, ‘faces relentless newspaper columns and TV pundit ‘takes’ arguing that he should drop out of the race.’ (Spoiler alert:  It’s somehow not the racist authoritarian sexual abuse fraudster facing 91 felony charges.)

“Klaas asked:  What is going on?  How is it possible that the leading candidate to become president of the United States can float the prospect of executing a general and the media response is … crickets?

“How is it possible that it’s not front-page news when a man who soon may return to power calls for law enforcement to kill people for minor crimes?  And why do so few people question Trump’s mental acuity rather than Biden’s, when Trump proposes delusional, unhinged plans for forest management and warns his supporters that Biden is going to lead us into World War II (which would require a time machine), or wrongly claims that he defeated Barack Obama in 2016?”

The media, Klaas argues, has adopted a policy in covering Donald Trump of, ‘Don’t amplify him! You’re just spreading his message.’

And, Klaas opposes this form of journalism, as do I, based on my long-ago past as a journalist.  As I have written in previous blogs, today’s form of over-the-top politics requires a special form of journalism, not the old habit of covering one side, then the other – or the horse-race form of political coverage.

It requires delicacy, discretion, and the ability to call out autocracy in what is supposed to be a democracy – to call out Trump.

Regarding this delusional candidate for president, I remember the best-selling book, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” in which a number of psychiatrists and mental health experts assessed a president, Trump, and found him to be mentally ill.

Edsall writes:

“The warnings that Trump is dangerous and unstable began well before his 2016 election and have become increasingly urgent.

“These warnings came during the 2016 primary and general election campaigns, continued throughout Trump’s four years in the White House, and remain relentless as he gets older and more delusional about the outcome of the 2020 election.”

Edsall went on to report that he asked some of those who first warned about the dangers Trump poses what their views are now.  Here is a summary of the responses:

• Leonard L. Glass, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School:

“Trump acts like he’s impervious, ‘a very stable genius,’ but we know he is rageful, grandiose, vengeful, impulsive, devoid of empathy, boastful, inciting of violence and thin-skinned.  At times it seems as if he cannot control himself or his hateful speech.  We need to wonder if these are the precursors of a major deterioration in his character defenses.

“If Trump — in adopting language that he cannot help knowing replicates that of Hitler (especially the references to opponents as ‘vermin’ and ‘poisoning the blood of our country’), we have to wonder if he has crossed into ‘new terrain.’

“That terrain, driven by grandiosity and dread of exposure (e.g., at the trials) could signal the emergence of an even less constrained, more overtly vicious and remorseless Trump who, should he regain the presidency, would, indeed act like the authoritarians he praises.  Absent conscientious aides who could contain him (as they barely did last time), this could lead to the literal shedding of American blood on American soil by a man who believes he is ‘the only one’ and the one, some believe, is a purifying agent of God and in whom they see no evil nor do they doubt.

Edsall continues:

“Nothing captures Trump’s megalomania and narcissism more vividly than his openly declared agenda, should he win back the White House next year.

“On November. 6, Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, and Devlin Barrett reported in The Washington Post that Trump ‘wants the Justice Department to investigate onetime officials and allies who have become critical of his time in office, including his former chief of staff John F. Kelly and former attorney general William P. Barr, as well as his ex-attorney Ty Cobb, and former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Mark A. Milley.”

“In an earlier story, Haberman, Savage and Swan reported that Trump allies are preparing to reissue an executive order known as Schedule F, which Trump promulgated at the end of his presidency but which never went into effect.

“Schedule F, the reporters wrote, would have empowered his administration to strip job protections from many career federal employees — who are supposed to be hired based on merit and cannot be arbitrarily fired.  While the order said agencies should not hire or fire Schedule F employees based on political affiliation, it effectively would have made these employees more like political appointees who can be fired at will.”

•  Joshua D. Miller, professor of psychology at the University of Georgia:

“Did Trump’s ‘vermin’ comment represent a tipping point, an escalation in his willingness to attack opponents.  My bet is we’re seeing the same basic traits, but their manifestation has been ratcheted up by the stress of his legal problems and also by some sense of invulnerability in that he has yet to face any dire consequences for his previous behavior.”

• Donald R. Lynam, professor of psychology at Purdue: 

“The escalation is quite consistent with grandiose narcissism.  Trump is reacting more and more angrily to what he perceives as his unfair treatment and failure to be admired, appreciated, and adored in the way that he believes is his due.

“Grandiose narcissists feel they are special and that normal rules don’t apply to them. They require attention and admiration.  This behavior is also consistent with psychopathy, which is pretty much grandiose narcissism, plus poor impulse control.”

• Aaron L. Pincus, professor of psychology at Penn State:

“Trump is an aging malignant narcissist.  As he ages, he appears to be losing impulse control and is slipping cognitively.  So, we are seeing a more unfiltered version of his pathology.  Quite dangerous.

“Trump seems increasingly paranoid, which can also be a reflection of his aging brain and mental decline.  The result?  Greater hostility and less ability to reflect on the implications and consequences of his behavior.”

• Edwin B. Fisher, professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina:

“Trump’s insistence on the validity of his own distorted claims has created a vicious circle, pressuring him to limit his close relations to those willing to confirm his beliefs.  His isolation is much of his own making.

“The enormous pressures he puts on others for confirmation and unquestioning loyalty and his harsh, often vicious responses to perceived disloyalty lead to a strong, accelerating dynamic of more and more pressure for loyalty, harsher and harsher judgment of the disloyal and greater and greater shrinking of pool of supporters.

“Trump is showing signs of cognitive deterioration, such as the confusion of Sioux Falls and Sioux City, several times referring to having beaten and/or now running against Obama or the odd garbling of words on a number of occasions for it seems like about a year now.  Add to these the tremendous pressure and threat he is under, and you have, if you will, a trifecta of danger — lifelong habit, threat, and possible cognitive decline. They each exacerbate the other two.”

• Craig Malkin, lecturer in psychology at Harvard Medical School:

“If the evidence emerging proves true — that Trump knew he lost and continued to push the big lie anyway — his character problems go well beyond simple narcissism and reach troubling levels of psychopathy.  And psychopaths are far more concerned with their own power than preserving truth, democracy or even lives.”

Edsall concludes his essay this way:

“The man who, as president, incited a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol in order to overturn an election is again openly fomenting political violence while explicitly endorsing authoritarian strategies should he return to power.  That is the story of the 2024 election.  Everything else is just window dressing.”

To be sure.  And Edsall’s conclusion should strike fear into all of us if Trump ascends – or in his case, the best word is “descends” – to the presidency again.

If he does, our country will never be the same. 

VULGARITIES, INSULTS, BASELESS ATTACKS: TRUMP BACKERS FOLLOW HIS LEAD

This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

THIS IS THE FIRST OF TWO-PART SERIES OF BLOGS FOCUSING ON DONALD TRUMP’S VULGARITY

It’s almost too much to grasp.

What?

Two things:

• First, Donald Trump is so insecure that he lacks any basic human instincts of kindness and discretion.  So, he yells and screams based on his narcissism.
• Second, his MAGA followers like his style and go so far as to mimic his over-the-top conduct.  So, they are narcissists, too.

This was made clear in a Washington Post story the other day that caught my attention, not because it was fun to read, but because it told a tale about politics in this country – a tale that needs to be told as we head toward another presidential election.

The article by Hannah Knowles appeared under a headline I borrowed for this blog.  This was the subhead:

“Many GOP voters are not just tolerating, but relishing and emulating Trump’s often crass and cruel approach to politics.”

Yes, followers emulate Trump.

They don’t just support his policies, whatever those policies are – and they might be able to describe those policies.  They adopt Trump style as their own.

Here is how Knowles started her story:

Error! Filename not specified.

“DES MOINES — Donald Trump was conspicuously absent at a conservative Christian forum here, where his long-shot rivals for the Republican presidential nomination were asked how they could be role models from the White House. The host brought up Trump’s insulting nicknames:  ‘How do we raise the bar?’ he asked.

“The next day, Trump swooped into Iowa for his own event — where he lobbed insults, made crude references, and casually tossed out baseless and false claims designed to belittle his opponents and critics in vicious terms.

“Children wandered around in shirts and hats with the letters ‘FJB,’ an abbreviation for an obscene jab at President Biden that other merchandise spelled out:  ‘F— Biden.’

“During his speech inside a high school gym in Fort Dodge, former president Trump called one GOP rival a ‘son of a b—-,’ referred to another as ‘birdbrain’ and had the crowd shrieking with laughter at his comments on Representative Adam B. Schiff (D-California), who he called ‘pencil neck’ before asking, ‘How does he hold up that fat, ugly face?’  He brought the house down while mocking Biden, at one point baselessly suggesting Biden is using drugs and can’t get offstage ‘by the time whatever it is he’s taken wears off.’”

Trump’s coarseness and cruelty, Knowles writes, have come to define the Republican Party since his rise to the presidency — and many GOP voters relish and emulate the approach.

For me, one of the most egregious examples of Trump’s insane conduct over the years occurred when he said he was no fan of the late military hero John McCain because “McCain got captured.”

How would Trump even know what it meant to be captured during a war?  He never served.

As they have been offered the chance to support other presidential hopefuls who champion a similar agenda to Trump in a less abrasive package, many Republicans appear to be sticking with the former president — underscoring how his personality and shattering of behavioral norms have long been a major part of his appeal.

More from Knowles:

“Conservative evangelicals influential in Iowa — the first state in the GOP nominating calendar — have previously set aside some distaste for Trump’s personal behavior as he took up their causes, including appointing anti-abortion judges to the Supreme Court.

“An event in Fort Dodge served as a stark illustration of the crudeness, meanness, and unfounded accusations that he has helped normalize in politics.

“T-shirts on sale at the event neatly summed up that appeal with images of Trump giving a middle finger.  ‘Even my dog hates Biden!’ one of the merchants yelled each time someone walked up to look.

“Anticipating another general election matchup with Biden, Trump is criticizing Biden’s policies but also attacking him in highly personal terms as weak or ‘stupid.’  On Saturday he suggested Biden is unimposing to the dictators Trump often compliments, saying Chinese President Xi Jinping, who recently met with Biden, is ‘strong like granite’ and musing that Taliban leaders might not call Biden ‘your excellency, as Trump says they once addressed him.”

Trump’s language has rubbed off on many of his supporters.

And, so has Trump’s overall conduct and disrespect for any political norms.  It bodes ill for this country.

A BAD CHOICE FOR PRESIDENT

This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

What a sorry set of choices for Americans!

The presidential contest next year pits these two choices:

• Donald Trump, a 77-year-old racist, misogynist bigot who has been found liable for rape, who incited a deadly, violent insurrection aimed at overturning a democratic election, who has committed mass fraud for personal enrichment, who is facing 91 separate counts of felony criminal charges against him, and who has overtly discussed his authoritarian strategies for governing if he returns to power.
• Joe Biden, an 80-year-old with mainstream Democrat Party views who sometimes misspeaks or trips.

As I said, a bad choice, but if, this is the choice, I will vote for Biden.

THIS THANKSGIVING DAY, 2023

This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

This is a good day – there are others, too – to avoid getting into the mud of today’s form of politics in this country.

Better to remember why I am thankful this year as we celebrate one of the best holidays of the year, Thanksgiving.

My wife read this from “Jesus Calling” this morning and it is a “just right” reflection on Thanksgiving:

“As you sit quietly in my presence (God’s presence), let me fill your heart and mind with thankfulness.  

“If your mind needs a focal point, gaze at God’s love poured out to you on the cross.  Remember that nothing in heaven or on earth can separate you from that Love.  This remembrance builds a foundation of gratitude in you, a foundation that circumstances cannot shake.

“As you go through this day, look for tiny treasures strategically placed along the way.  God lovingly goes before you and plants little pleasures to brighten your day.

“Look carefully for them and pluck them one by one.  When you reach the end of the day, you will have gathered a lovely bouquet.  Offer it up to God with a grateful heart.”

So, with those thoughts, I head toward one of my favorite tactics, which is to create a Top 10 List, this time of my reasons to be thankful.

1. My wife, Nancy, who is still with us this year despite having a heart procedure last month, which I add, saved her life.

• Just in advance of that in October, celebrating Nancy’s and my 50-year anniversary on an overseas trip that started with four great days in Santorini, Greece.  Hard to believe where all the time has gone.

• Watching our two kids, Eric and Lissy, continue to grow up to be responsible adults.

• Watching our three grandchildren head into their final years of high school before heading off to college – and know that they have great opportunities for higher education based on their abilities and skills.

• Reflecting on the fact that I have many friends in our main home in Salem, including those who tolerate me on the golf course.

• Reflecting on the fact I also have a great group of golfing friends here in La Quinta where we are fortunate to spend our winters.

• Remembering 15 good years in leadership at Salem Alliance Church in Salem, Oregon, our home church which emphasizes a relationship with Christ while studiously avoiding involvement in politics – a good thing when so much of what comes across as Christendom today focuses on right wing, “white only” stupidity.

• Treasuring my relationship with the senior pastor at Salem Alliance when I served on the Governing Board of Elders.  His name — Morris Dirks and he and I became brothers as we allowed God to work through us in the church.

• Treasuring a group of men at my home golf course, Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club in Salem who meet every Friday to study God’s word.  Through this experience, which is based on Links Players National, an organization that promotes God and golf, I have learned that more folks at Illahe than I knew value a relationship with God.

1. And, treasuring my own relationship with God, which is based on what God has done for me – his grace — not on my performance to earn his approval.

I’ll stop at 10, though I could add many more.

So, focus today – and perhaps every day – on what you have to be thankful for, including what may be relatively small things in life that add up to bigger things.

IMPOSSIBLE STUFF IN POLITICS

This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

For some reason, I have been thinking lately about impossible stuff in politics.  Perhaps that is because there are so many options.

Or, I also have time on hands, so I have to spend it some way.

So, as is my style, I have come up with my own list.

• Imposing a gag order on the big-mouth, Donald Trump, and expecting it to hold.  Or, finding a way to enforce it when he goes off.

• Finding qualified attorneys who would choose to represent Trump.

Note these excerpts from a story that appeared in the Washington Post, written by a member of its Editorial Board:

“In Fulton County, Georgia, three of former President Donald Trump’s lawyers — Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis — have now pleaded guilty to crimes in service of Trump’s scheme to overturn the 2020 election and stay in the White House.

“All three have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the sprawling state RICO case against Trump.

“Two other Trump lawyers, Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, still face criminal charges in the Georgia case. They, along with Chesebro and Powell, have also been identified as unindicted co-conspirators in the related federal prosecution of Trump, which will probably benefit from the guilty pleas in Georgia.”

• Finding legislators in Congress who will follow this ethic:  They need to EARN trust, rather than just say they deserve it.
  
  
• Finding legislators in Congress who will work to identify middle-ground solutions instead of bolstering their own re-election campaigns.  The state of the “permanent campaign” argues against good government.  The U.S. House is proving it every day.

• Finding legislative leaders in Congress who would have the chops and credentials to lead others to middle-ground solutions.  There are few of these leaders, if any, left these days.

Enough for now. 

A TOP 10 DONALD ROSS DESIGNED GOLF COURSE YOU CAN PLAY – IF YOU CAN GET THERE

This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Memories are interesting things.  Fortunately, in my old age, I will have the ability to look back on what happened in the past.

So it was that my recent on-line edition of Links Magazine carrier a story that brought back fond memories for me – memories about 30 years ago.

The story listed 10 courses designed by prolific architect Donald Ross that it was possible for anyone to play.

One of them:   French Lick Resort in French Lick, Indiana.

Why is this a memory for me?

Well, son, Eric, when he was a young golfer, he was invited to play in a few American Junior Golf Association tournaments around the country.  One was in French Lick.

I went along with Eric as his caddy and the trip was memorable for several reasons.

THE TRIP ITSELF:  We flew out of Portland, Oregon, heading to Dallas, Texas, but, on the way, we learned that a substantial cloud cover had closed the Dallas Airport.  {Today, so-called “fog busting” technology might have made it possible to land in Dallas.]

So, we were diverted to Amarillo, Texas, where we sat on the tarmac for about four hours before being given permission to head to Dallas.

Then, in Dallas, we were late for a connection to Louisville, Kentucky, but we got another, later flight.

Of course, that made us late in Louisville to obtain the rental car we had reserved.  The normal rental car office was closed, so we were able to go the other side of the airport to rental office for business and, there, we got our car.

But, it was midnight.

In the dark, we headed off to French Lick, about a couple hours away.

But, remember back then, no one had GPS systems, so we looked at a map in the dark and tried to make our way to French Lick.

Surprisingly, we made it, but, to this day, I have no idea how.

THE GOLF COURSE:  According to Links Magazine:

“It’s a straight shot 60 miles west of Louisville into the heart of ‘Larry Bird Country’ to play this 105-year-old classic that was supersized in 2006, yet with shot values restored, by native Hoosier Lee Schmidt of Schmidt-Curley Design.  

“Rolling, open farmland greets players today, just as it did when Walter Hagen captured the 1924 PGA Championship here.  [Or, when son Eric played the course.]

“The wild, easily four-puttable 8th green, which falls steeply from back to front, will test even the most skilled flatstick specialist.”

Frankly, I don’t remember much about the course, although it is reputed to be one of Donald Ross’ best.

What I do remember is that Eric played well.

ABOUT FRENCH LICK:  There was clue about this in the phrase above —  “Larry Bird Country.”

French Lick was the birthplace of one of America’s best-ever basketball players, Larry Bird.

He was called “The Hick from French Lick” and, if you ever get to the town of French Lick, Bird memorabilia are everywhere.

On the evening of our first day in French Lick, all young golfers and their families were invited to shoot baskets at the high school gymnasium where Bird played. 

Bird pictures on every wall.  Great fun!

And, overall, it was trip for the ages.  Just glad I got to go along with Eric.

And, to put a final point on it, we made it home in Oregon easily and in good shape.

REASONS TO LOVE ST. ANDREWS GOLF IN SCOTLAND

This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

I have had the privilege of being in St. Andrews in Scotland, the home of golf, on two occasions.

Scotland is my wife Nancy’s family homeland, so it was great to be in
Scotland with her as my guide.

Of course, what matters to me most about St. Andrews is golf – and there is a lot to experience in this region of Scotland.  The St. Andrews Links Trust consists of seven courses, the most famous of which is the Old Course.

Is it the best of the seven?  Many who have played there probably would say “no,” as I would because I have played several of the seven, including at least two that I could describe as better than the Old. 

But the Old Course is clearly the most memorable.

A few of my memories there:

• I forget much of what happened on our first visit there, but I did manage to get a tee time on the Old Course, which is often difficult to achieve.  And I remember a few of the holes, especially the 1^st and the 18^th, sitting, as they do, side-by-side.

• One of my best memories occurred on a trip there with my daughter, Lissy, and her family.  When we arrived in St. Andrews on a Sunday, we found the usual St. Andrews policy — which is that the courses are closed to golf, so the land becomes a park, sitting hard by the North Sea and the sand beach between the courses and the ocean.

With closure, there is a time to explore the courses and take pictures with no golfers in the way.  Of course, we took a photo on the famous Swilcan Bridge.

On that Sunday, we also put in our bid – it’s called a “lottery” – to try to get a tee time on the Old Course.  It worked.  So, on Tuesday, we played, and I still remember my daughter’s account of her thoughts as she teed up her golf ball on the first hole, which is only about 20 feet in front of a bay of windows in the Royal & Ancient Clubhouse.

She felt like all eyes were on her.  And she felt like she might throw up.  The good news is that she piped a great drive down the first fairway.

• The other memory was recalled for me by our son, Eric, as he and a friend toured Europe after college.  He said he went to the Old Course and, as many singles do, waited in line to see if there was room for him without a formal tee time.

There was and, with others he didn’t know before the time, he played the Old Course for the first time.

My current edition of Links Insider, in a story by Graylyn Loomis who lived in St. Andrews while in college, lists “10 Other Things to Love About St. Andrews.”  By the word “other, he means “other than golf.”

Here are the 10:

Long Summer Evenings

The hardest part of living through a winter in St. Andrews isn’t the weather:  It’s the daylight, or lack thereof.  In mid-December, the sun rises after 8 a.m. and sets before 4 p.m.  The last tee time on the Old Course that time of year is 11:50 a.m.  The part to love? In the summer, you get back all those dark hours with glorious summer evenings that seemingly last forever.  During my summers in St. Andrews, I would caddie an afternoon round, have dinner, and go play a round of my own.  In June, the light lingers until just after 11 p.m.

The West & East Sands

The tale goes that Old Tom Morris started his days with a dip in the sea, no matter the temperature or weather.  When you hear that story, it makes you look at the West Sands — the 1.7-mile-long beach next to the Old Course near Old Tom’s shop — and question his sanity.  Locals use the West Sands, also the site of the famous Chariots of Fire running scene, and its half-mile-long sister beach across town, the East Sands, as places for recreation.  The East Sands also has the town’s pier and harbor, where you can buy fresh fish straight from the boat.

The Clubs

Many golf clubs share the seven courses of the St. Andrews Links.  The Royal & Ancient is the most famous, but there’s also the St. Andrews Golf Club, the New Club, and the two women’s clubs, St. Regulus and St. Rule. Each operates independently, but they come together a few times a year for competitions like the Gold Medal—a tournament on the Old Course for the best players from each club—and the Town Match, when many of the clubs open their doors for drinks after a day of interclub match play.  Each club has its own identity, but a shared love of golf binds them together.

Luvians Bottle Shop

The commercial heart of St. Andrews is Market Street, a bustling cobblestone road that buzzes with businesses, restaurants, people, and the vitally important Tesco grocery store with its ATM machine for caddie cash.  There’s also a bottle shop called Luvians, which sells wine and whisky, and sparked my love of single malts.  A stop at the store (and conversation with its knowledgeable clerks) should be mandatory.

Munch Bacon Rolls

By the third or fourth morning of a St. Andrews golf trip, you’re certain to have had enough of your B&B’s “full Scottish” breakfast: beans, sausage, bacon, fried eggs, fried bread, haggis, potatoes, tomatoes, and mushrooms.  That’s when it’s time for a coffee and bacon roll at Munch on South Street.  A bacon roll consists of a fresh buttered bread roll and two “rashers” of British bacon.  A few blocks away is another restaurant you’ll crave around day four, Little Italy.  When you’ve tired of pub grub, its excellent Italian food is a welcome change.

Sunday Strolls on the Old Course

On Sundays, all seven courses managed by the St. Andrews Links Trust, including the Old, close and become public parks, used to walk dogs, run, and take photos.  This balance of golf and “real life” makes St. Andrews feel like a town and not a golf resort.

Belhaven Best

If you’ve been to St. Andrews, you have your favorite pub.  Visiting Americans love The Dunvegan.  Older locals and caddies haunt The Keys.  British ale lovers sip away in The Central, and on a sunny afternoon it’s mandatory to sit outside for a pint at The Jigger Inn.  You could find me in the New Club.  At almost all those places, you’ll find Belhaven Best on tap.  The quintessential Scottish ale, this creamy, amber-colored brew warms on a cold day, cools on a warm day, and always goes down smooth.  “Best” isn’t found only in St. Andrews, but there are few better places to enjoy it.

The University of St. Andrews

“Where’s the campus?” is a common question from visitors looking for the university that dates to 1413.  Truth is, the university and the town are so intertwined that they’re almost one.  The heart of campus is picturesque St. Salvator’s Quadrangle off North Street, but university buildings are everywhere, sitting between shops, restaurants, and apartments.  More than its buildings and history, though, the university brings vibrancy to the town:  Students make up almost half of the town’s population and they add youth, vigor, and noise, often to the irritation of locals.

The East Neuk

The East Neuk of Fife is a series of charming nearby fishing villages.  Each town — Anstruther, Crail, Pittenweem, and others — seems to jump from the pages of a fairy tale, with colorful waterfront shops and restaurants, fishing boats puttering in and out of the harbors, interesting history, and other delights.  The most scenic way to view the East Neuk is from the second story of a double-decker public bus:  At that height you can see over stone walls and hedgerows and take in the towns, sea, and rolling fields.

The Scores

During “move-in day” my freshman year at the University of St. Andrews, I entered my dorm room in St. Salvator’s Hall and looked out the window onto the North Sea.  Just in front of the cliffs and crashing waves was a street called “The Scores.”  I fell in love with the quiet lane lined with centuries-old buildings and ancient stone walls.  Best yet, it led directly to the first tee of the Old Course.  Also on The Scores is a charming B&B called the Russell Hotel where they make a mean sticky toffee pudding, and on a nice evening you can sit outside and soak up the Old Course in one direction and the cliffs and sea in the other.

MORE ON AN AWARD FOR THE GOLF COURSE WHERE I PLAY

This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

I have mentioned this one time previously, but I want to do so again.

The course where I play most of my golf, Illahe Golf and Country Club in Salem, Oregon, won an award recently from the Oregon Golf Association (OGA), the region’s leading golf promotion organization.

The award:  “Facility of the Year.”

Here’s what the OGA wrote about Illahe:

“Illahe received the ‘Facility of the Year’ award for the simple reason it stepped up on numerous occasions to support golf in Oregon and Southwest Washington.  This has involved hosting major junior and adult amateur tournaments, as well as hosting this year’s OGA Annual Meeting.

“As we have worked with the leadership at Illahe over the last year, they have always been interested in supporting golf in Oregon and, in particular, junior golf.  

“On top of its own substantial junior golf programs, Illahe has hosted the OGA Junior Tournament of Champions for three straight years.

“Looking forward to 2026, Illahe is slated to host the Girls Juniors America’s Cup, a 54-hole event consisting of 18 teams and each team consisting of the top four girls from each state/country.  It has done so because, to state the obvious, junior golf is very important to the future of the sport all of us love — and this award recognizes that.

“Thank you, Illahe, for all you do to support golf in our area and congratulations on being selected as the OGA Facility of the Year.”

I am proud of honor for Illahe.  It is an indication that the Club fosters solid relationships with its members – especially junior golfers – even as it supports golf in the region.