You could interleave your college games with those freshman girls games for a season or two. After all, retirement should be about taking it easy, shouldn't it? :D

Juulie is correct about land use planning. I was a volunteer for four years on my county's Planning Commission and twelve years on my city's Planning Commission, the last five years as President. Compared to the screamers I had to put up with at public hearings, coaches are a piece of cake. We call those people NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard). It seems everyone here wants to live on a cul-de-sac backed up to a national forest. Oh yeah - and with gates.

Frankly, it's a good thing you're not moving here from California. You'd be tarred and feathered. Our official state motto is: "Don't Californicate Oregon". :D

Juulie's also right about Perry Mason. A local channel has been running it M-F at noon for about 40 years. Whenever anyone asks them when they'll stop, they say "when people stop watching". Actually, it's pretty comforting to have something like that you can rely on every day. And...the acting wasn't half bad.

I've been trying for a number of years to get the HS band director to feature the Perry Mason theme in one of their concerts. But, unlike Perry, I have not won that case.

Right now, we are looking at houses in Beaverton.(SP) I guess that's like 10 miles away from Portland.

Well, you certainly picked the right general area, IMO. I might suggest you also look one town to the south in Tigard, where I live. The neighborhoods are just as nice and the tax rate is way lower. Remember, although there is no sales tax in Oregon, we do have a property tax.

Also, Beaverton probably grows the prettiest girls (except for Juulie, of course, who grew up in Portland). My wife grew up in Beaverton and, two years after HS, was Miss Beaverton in the Miss Oregon pageant.

Hey - you didn't think I'd marry some woofer, did you? ;)

Beaverton is also home to the Tualatin Hills Officials Assn. They're probably the largest rec assn. in the state. They work bazillions of kids and adult rec games. If you want, I'm sure you can work our kids rec league here in Tigard even if you live in Beaverton. We have a couple of guys who do that.

just remember, you won't be able to pump your own gas.

Not only won't you be "able to" - it's actually illegal if you do. Gotta love a state in which it's illegal to pump your own gas but it's legal to assist a suicide for medical reasons. Actually, I like both laws. :)

Oh yeah - marijuana is "almost" legal, too. Why do you think guys like to be drafted by the Blazers? ;)

It's illegal to pump your own gas?

Wow.........

Oregon and (I think) New Jersey. The only reason to keep the law is to prevent the loss of jobs if stations were allowed to go self-service. I think it's hilarious.

Mark, how do you teach your kids to pump gas? Or do you just tell them never to get gas outside of Oregon? :)

They get jobs at service stations. DUH!

Whoever the decision makers are in the Portland area are need to revisit this decision. That is a terrible policy. Plenty of people with the ability to work at the HS V level move every year and to have a blanket policy that they will not do V games is, IMO, just plain stupid. Portland risks losing talented transferring officials if they keep this policy.

One of my neighbors works across the Columbia in Vancouver, WA. He makes sure he stops on the Oregon side of the river to get gas. Of course, he doesn't buy anything on the Washington side to save the sales tax, too.

Actually, there is a situation here in Oregon in which you pump your own gas. It's at those commercial card-lock stations. That's the only place, however.

BTW - every time someone tries to get the law changed, they get smacked upside the head by all the Fire Marshals in the state.

Yea, tell it to the judge.

Mark, one thing I forgot to mention in the list of political hot points was the kicker. How could I, at this time of year? Bud will definitely need to be brought up to date on that little doozy!

For inquiring minds, the "kicker" is a tax situation here in Oregon. At the end of the year, the state decides if there is a surplus of collected taxes (the amount of the surplus is stated in the statute). If there is, taxpayers receive a "kicker" check with their share of the surplus, just like getting an "extra" tax refund. I love getting mine. There are many people in Oregon who think the state should keep the money since it's already been collected and spend it on programs such as schools and other people-centric services. However, there are those that think that if the state budgets so much and collects more, there should be a refund, just like the normal refunds we get if we overpay as an individual. Not only that, but you can volunteer to have the state keep your kicker if you want.

Personally, I support the kicker. I feel an analogy would be going into a store and buying something that costs $15. If you give the clerk a $20 bill, you expect $5 change. Oh yeah - your change would be exactly $5 in Oregon because we have no sales tax. YIPPEE!!! :)