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Radio Gretchen

Behind the Beard – Bridgeport Village Santa

Whew. I’ve been to a lot of malls in the last month. Usually my goal this time of year is to avoid all shopping malls like the H1N1. I hate crowds and loud noises. I’m also not a fan of pushing, shoving, grabbing, kicking and biting — and doing all of that [...]

Behind the Beard – Portland Macy’s Downtown Santa

by Radio Gretchen

If you are like me, you don’t accept change willingly. I’m still in a minor state of mourning over the loss of the Pixie Kitchen and the Organ Grinder – the two places that held the most magic for me as a child. A Motel 6 now stands where the Pixie Kitchen stood [...]

12.23.2009 See the rest → 2 comments

Behind the Beard – Pioneer Place Santa

by Radio Gretchen

I spent ages 10-18 in a small town in rural western Colorado. The nearest shopping mall was an hour and a half drive through the desert away. The anchor stores at this mall were Mervyn’s and Target. Going to the mall was a Big Deal that was planned weeks ahead of time. [...]

12.21.2009 See the rest → 2 comments

Behind the Beard – Washington Square Santa

by Radio Gretchen

Washington Square has long reigned as Oregon’s premier shopping center. It says so right on their website — and who am I to argue with that? So it would only stand to reason that Oregon’s premier shopping center would also have Oregon’s premier shopping center Santa, right?
I know someone who would [...]

12.17.2009 See the rest → 4 comments

Behind the Beard – Lloyd Center Santa

by Radio Gretchen

For the sake of full disclosure I have to tell you that the Lloyd Center mall is my happy place. It feels crazy to even type those words, but it’s true. Lloyd Center is like some vortex of positive energy. Whenever I feel like my life needs some sorting out – I go [...]

12.15.2009 See the rest → 4 comments

Portland Shopping Mall Santas – A Comparative Study

by Radio Gretchen

I did not believe in Santa when I was a little girl. For some inexplicable reason, my parents told my brothers and me that there was no such thing as Santa Claus. We did not hang our stockings by the chimney with care. We did not write letters to or leave cookies [...]

12.07.2009 See the rest →

What is the Sound of One Man Clapping?

by Radio Gretchen

A series of misadventures have kept me from attending Blazer games lately, so I was pretty excited to be back at the Rose Garden for Tuesday night’s game against the Orlando Magic Miami Heat. I needed this game. I needed to sit in the stands and watch something that would take me out [...]

12.04.2009 See the rest → 7 comments

Getting In Touch With My Inner Diva

by Radio Gretchen

Hello, Portland.
I have some thoughts for you today that are more personal in nature than my usual musings on basketball or pet peeves. I have some confessions to make. Hold on to your wetness wicking socks…
I, Radio Gretchen, have never had a manicure, pedicure, massage or any other type of spa treatment ever in my [...]

11.20.2009 See the rest →

Blazer Fever – Don’t Catch It

by Radio Gretchen

Hello, Blazer Fans.
A few weeks ago, I was so excited because Blazer season was starting back up and that meant it was time for me to put my sports writer hat back on. I really enjoyed writing my Blazer posts last year, especially considering that I have no idea what I’m talking about. [...]

11.08.2009 See the rest →

Splendor on a Gloomy Monday

by Radio Gretchen

Portland is such a beautiful city during the sunny summer months, but the transition into the darkness of winter is not a pretty one. My Monday morning Twitter stream was full of tweets about heavy rains and self-diagnosis of various diseases. It was as if I could actually hear bottles of Zoloft being [...]

10.27.2009 See the rest → 2 comments

The South Park Blocks

by Radio Gretchen

On sunny days, I spend a lot of my lunch hours out in the South Park Blocks. The South Park Blocks will always be special to me because of the years I spent at PNCA, which at the time was housed within the walls of the Portland Art Museum. Those tree-lined blocks [...]

07.01.2009 See the rest → 1 comment