December 2025 Update for Our Dear Family and Friends
Living in Portland, OR – We continue to treasure this “small big city.” The pace, the greenery, and our specific neighborhood fit us perfectly. We rarely need to drive—our car leaves the garage maybe four times a week!
We love walking to our favorite stores, the community center, restaurants, and Providence Park to cheer on the Thorns (National Women’s Soccer League). We also hop on the streetcar for theater trips, browsing at Powell’s Books, the farmers’ market, and taking classes at Portland State University (which are free for seniors).
When we moved to Portland we searched for a single-family home. But, to our surprise, we ended up buying a condo (The Vaux). Our Vaux neighbors bring great diversity and world experience. And we’ve found opportunities to help build a strong community. We helped found the Know Your Neighbor group and Ed organizes its “Fix-it Team” – while Patty helps with The Vaux’s emergency preparedness committee. And with the condo we can lock-it and leave-it.
New Wheels – Speaking of driving, our 10-year-old Subaru Forester found a new home this year, and we welcomed a 2025 Forester. Ed had been pining for the updated safety electronics, and while we don’t drive much, we feel much safer when we do. As the bumper sticker regularly seen here says: “My other car is also a Subaru.”
Learning and Moving – We are keeping our minds and bodies active. Patty is reading voraciously, loves her book club, and stays active with yoga, tai chi, and strength/balance classes, plus trips to the weights/exercise room. Ed has been playing plenty of pickleball, joins Patty for strength/balance training, and has started cycling again (Portland is wonderfully bike-friendly).
Ed’s classes at PSU this year covered Immigration, Psychology, and Digital Skills—the last with a big emphasis on AI. He also published the second edition of The Best Charities for YOU.
The Spirit of Portland – You may have heard news reports painting Portland as “war-ravaged” and a horrible place to be, but our experience has been quite the opposite. The response of our community to the overbearing ICE and federal enforcement has been heartwarming. We participated in two large protest gatherings which were peaceful and even joyful in their creative response to the federal presence. We felt safe and inspired—though we were reminded that we aren’t huge fans of large crowds!
Travels – We enjoyed two terrific longer trips this year. Plus a nice visit to the Oregon Coast.
- February/March: We spent a month in New Zealand and Australia with Road Scholar. It was a highly active learning experience. Although we both caught a bug during the trip, that couldn’t overshadow the marvelous culture and people we encountered.
- July: We traveled domestically to Denver (Stoph and Stacy), Upstate New York and Vermont (lots of family), Cape Cod (lifelong friend Anne), and New York City. It was wonderful to reconnect with family and friends, and then explore NYC museums and Central Park on our own.
Health Update – The bug we picked up traveling early in the year stuck with Patty for much longer than we hoped, and Ed had a several month stretch of dealing with unexplained fatigue. The good news is that with perseverance—and an excellent team of doctors—we are now feeling quite good.
Coming Up – In 2026, we’ll enjoy some anniversaries filled with meaning. Ed’s New York Bar admission was 55 years ago. We launched H.E.L.P. 30 years ago, and helped launch Caring House 10 years ago – both are continuing their missions and in the hands of people we respect and trust. And our marvelous son Christopher (Stoph) will turn 55.
And assited by the learning at his Digital Skills class and solid support from Stoph, Ed plans to launch “The Charity Nine” (working title) – an online AI-assisted tool for donors to quickly examine nine things to check before donating to any charity.
The photos — Top left to right: the iconic Portland Oregon sign; Patty and Ed aboard ship in the Milford Sound, NZ; Ed and Patty at the Sydney, AU, harbor with the Opera House and Harbor Bridge in background; Fresh, fresh, fresh eggs in the kitchen of Steve Long & Mary Hays home in Norwich, VT; and Fence sign at the Denver Botanic Garden – Chatfield, seen during visit there with Stoph Long and Stacy Fahrion.
Bottom left to right: a Portland frog riding the streetcar with us on the way to a protest at the waterfront; Vegetables from a December visit to the Portland Saturday Farmers’ Market; Patty ready, willing and able for her first snorkelling, at the Great Barrier Reef no less; a wonderful face found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC; and Ed now has a tattoo.
We wish you peace, happiness, health, and safety today, tomorrow and always.
Ed & Patty Long
2335 NW Raleigh Street, Unit 403, Portland, OR 97210
Palong001@gmail.com | 310-701-0845
Ewlong1@gmail.com | 310-612-1146