I

had a good time in Portland the last couple of days, despite the fact I didn't sleep worth a damn last night because the air conditioning in the room didn't work. There was a fan, but I was still hotter than hell until about 4 a.m.

That was good for about an hour, for the sisters got out of bed and were dressed at 5. We had breakfast at an Albany Elmer's restaurant meeting up with some friends of the family and my nephew's son, and then we headed back for home.

I would have liked to have stayed a couple more days and look around at various sites in the city; as it was, I spent time shopping at Lloyd Center (at one time one of the largest shopping malls in the world) and walking around the vicinity, videotaping what I saw. I did not, however, tape some mentally ill guy in a nearby park who offered to take his pants off.

I also did not tape the heated argument my sisters had on the way back home, before we got to Albany. They were bitching about money. Pat, the oldest one, insisted on paying for gas for Sharon's van, but Sharon resisted it. Sharon, who is getting divorced from the husband who had been married upteen times, got defensive, and pretty soon they were exchanging verbal blows. Pat said something to the effect that the way Sharon was spending money, someday she would have to "bail her out of the poorhouse." Then Sharon got REALLY mad, and one does NOT want to piss her off because she becomes a real bitch, far worse than I could ever be, believe it or not. She called Pat "Don," which is the name of her soon-to-be ex, and then went off on a rant about how she thought Don was so great, that she must have been in love with him, and a whole lot of other nonsense. Then Pat said she would never, ever go anywhere with Sharon again. Sharon said the same thing, and it wasn't long before it was dead silence. It didn't last that long, however, and Pat did try to make overtures to Sharon. Eventually they did start talking again, and they decided they would make trips again. Thank God for that. I wouldn't want to have to listen to bitchery for the next three or four hours or dead silence.

By the way, they went to Portland to attend a concert by some country singers named Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, who I guess are married to each other. I am not a big country music fan. It was a double concert, so it lasted about three hours. My sisters liked it, but Pat especially couldn't understand the words to any of the songs except "kiss, kiss, kiss." Their act is supposed to be about the most popular one around for this type of music. The Rose Garden Arena was packed, and the concert started 25 minutes late because of the flood of people coming in.

I didn't go to the concert, of course, but the sisters invited me to come along with them up north anyway. I like Portland a lot, and if I get myself certified in special ed, I may try and return back to Oregon and move to the area. There is a lot to do up there.