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 (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 one of three departments I run with skill and aplomb based on my many years of solid management service.

The others are the Departments of Good Quotes Worth Remembering and the “Just Saying.”

I open the departments only when each has action to take.  In this case, the Department of Pet Peeves has been closed for some time, but there are three new examples below that may opening worth it.

PET PEEVE #1:  Do you ever wonder why garden hoses you buy are labeled “kink-free?”

Well, it’s a lie.

All regular hoses kink as a matter of course. 

That’s why my wife and I have taken to buying metal hoses.  They are advertised as “not-kinking” – and they don’t.

Try it…you’ll like it.

PET PEEVE #2:  I am a sports fan, though not as significant or knowledgeable as some of my friends.  But what happened this week to the University of Oregon was, in many ways, a tragedy.

Another high-profile and well-paid coach, Mario Cristobal, bolted for Florida.  Along the way, in the last two or three weeks, it appeared he leveraged a major, contract extension offer from the U of O into a “better deal” in Miami. 

His conduct, reportedly, left a bad taste in the mouth of major U of O donor, Nike founder and exec Phil Knight, who ended up pulling back his huge offer after Cristobal declined to sign it.

Did Cristobal leverage Miami?  Probably, but no way to tell.

But, if he did, it would be the second time a U of O coach with Florida connections left the Ducks hanging.  Willy Taggert was the first; Cristobal is the second.

Defenders of Cristobal will say that he was simply deciding to go home where he grew up and where his extended family lives, including his sick mother.  If true, that lessens my peeve.

Given that Cristobal bolted, there might a silver lining in what otherwise is a dark cloud.  It is this:  Folks with more knowledge than me thought Cristobal was a good recruiter, but not a great coach.  Perhaps the new hire can be both.

The other peeve here is that the cost of athletics – especially football coach salaries – is going through the roof.  Witness two other high-profile departures in the last few weeks – Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma State to USC and Brian Kelly from Notre Dame to Louisiana.

When will the money grab end?  I hope soon.  And, meanwhile, those who attend major football games are in for higher and higher ticket prices.

PET PEEVE #3:  Ever notice how unintelligible health care bills are, especially from hospitals?

Well, I have.

It is nearly impossible to make sense of them.

Now, let me add, clearly, that I am in favor of hospitals, especially good ones such as Providence Health & Services (consisting of eight hospitals and other programs for which I was the State of Oregon lobbyist for nearly 25 years) and Salem Health (which has provided uniformly solid service for me and my family over the years).

They are quality health care providers.  And, in both cases, I advocated for improving the tone, character and content of bills, so far without total success.  But, if there is something to be thankful for, it is that the billing process is improving.  Room to go?  Yes.  Good results so far?  Also yes.

I’ll assess whether there has been more progress when I get my next bill.