PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: 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 of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, 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.

This department, remember, is one of three I run with a free hand to do as I please, which makes me, perish the thought, sound like one Donald Trump.

Forgive the parallel.

On to the pet peeves.

Pet Peeve #1: The fact that very big pick-up trucks are allowed to park in angled spaces in downtown Salem.

If you ever have tried to park on one side or the other of the big trucks, you take your life in your hands.

There is an easy solution here. Just pass a city ordinance that prevents big trucks from using the angled spaces. The rationale would be simple: Public safety.

Pet Peeve #2: The fact that political reporters love to criticize candidates for changing positions on certain issues over the years when the changes may just be what should be a reality for all of us – our positions on issues change as we learn and know more.

Political reporters often describe changing positions as “waffling.” And, I suppose that is sometimes the case, especially when candidates say one thing one day and another thing the next.

But, if over time, political office-holders refine or change their positions, it is not waffling. It is simply learning more and coming to a different conclusion.

In a recent Wall Street Journal piece, writer Joseph Epstein criticized cable-television journalists who specialize in interviewing politicians and like few things better than to find contradictions between their past and current statements, voting patterns, behavior.

“In 1998, senator, you said unequivocally that you were for the death penalty for parakeets. (Let’s put that quote up on the screen.) Yet, just last week you authored a bill that would remove all parakeets from death row. How do you explain that?”

The focus of my pet peeve relates to so-called TV journalists who love to cite contradictions without context. And, my advice to political figures? Don’t be afraid to change your mind as you learn more over time and simply be straight and up-front with constituents. The solid voters will appreciate your honesty.

Pet Peeve #3: The fact that, when using the phone to access one of your service providers, you have to jump through so many hoops.

One of recent examples for me was dealing with the disability insurance provider for my brother. When I called the access number, it often took my five or six prompts to try to get through to a real person and, often, that involved a long wait on the phone.

In the spirit of full disclosure, when I finally reached a person, he or she was helpful, which raised the question for me as to whether it would be possible to talk to a real person earlier.

But what’s worse that going through a large number of prompts is when the non-person voice on the other end of the phone starts offering you various incentives – call them sales messages – before allowing you to proceed .

I suspect businesses would tell you that they save money through this process, but, often, the process does nothing to exalt serving customers.

Enough pet peeves for today, though, no doubt, more will occur to me.