Have you ever walked into a room and forgotten why you went into the room in the first place? I can hear all those heads nodding up and down. Now, what was the question I just asked? Oh, where are my keys?
I know my readers, both of whom are of a similar age to me. We aren’t just getting up in the years, we are there and all of us boomers are old, whether we like it or not. Those days of long hair, questionable cigarettes, and bell bottoms have been replaced with toupees that don’t match what hair we still have, medications for a whole range of maladies, and Depends.
Since there are so many Baby Boomers, the aging of America is particularly noticeable. Our generation expanded the population of this country like no other. That’s due to all the servicemen coming home at the end of World War II. I come from a family of eight children, all born boomers, meaning my Dad really missed my mom while serving our country.
When boomers were in school, there was such a demand for new schoolrooms that districts all over the country went on a building boom. New schools were popping up left and right (that is not a political statement…get a life). My high school was the size of a small college. We had two campuses. One was for freshmen and sophomores, and the other was for juniors and seniors. They were located a mile apart, and the freshman/sophomore campus was huge. With the following generations not reproducing as much, many of those schools have been closed, except for mine. I always get notices that it is continuing to expand. At least their football team is better than the one I was on. They played for the State Championship last fall. Our team would rush out to the field before pregame warm-ups, tripping over themselves in the process.
I went to a Catholic grade school that was part of the Archdiocese of Chicago. When I was young, Catholic schools were being built everywhere. The population in this country has become stagnant, and many of those schools built to accommodate the wave of baby boomers have now been closed, including the school that Pope Leo XIV (a boomer) attended on the south end of the diocese. That would have been a truly remarkable class reunion if they were still open.
I could take this article in the direction of talking about how it was better when we were young, the places we used to frequent, and how life was simpler, but I was too busy rotting my brain watching too much television. Well, that’s what my radio-loving parents told me. It probably explains why you and I can’t remember anything…now, where were my keys? Maybe we should have read a few books…naw, not as good as watching reruns of I Love Lucy, Leave It To Beaver, and The Honeymooners.
Boomers had a lot to live up to. Our parent’s generation, known as “The Greatest” generation, only had to live through devastating depression and fight a world war to save humanity from fascist despots like Hitler, Mussolini, and Hideki (Japanese Prime Minister responsible for Pearl Harbor).
What can Baby Boomers be proud of…I’m thinking, I’m thinking. We can’t really take credit for Rock and Roll. All the pioneers of rock were born long before the Baby Boom generation officially began. I guess we can claim hippies, excessive drug use, Gilligan’s Island, cars like the Pinto, Gremlin, Pacer and Vega (Car designs that nearly bankrupted their companies) and the increasing numbers of rehab clinics. Ok, nothing to brag about.
It’s all perception. While some of those previously mentioned “accomplishments” seem embarrassing, we did have a few things to offer. We were willing to speak truth to power by protesting the Vietnam War. More of us went to college than our parent’s generation. We invented tie-dye and really colorful, but ragged clothing. Baby Boomers created smartphone technology that is now rotting the brains of the current generation…that’s the best I got.
We have also created the following generations, such as Generation X and Millennials, as well as our grandkids, Gen Z. We have had to. We needed help to get our VCRs to stop flashing 12 and to assist us in setting up the smartphones we had invented.
As I have discovered by growing old, our bodies start breaking down. We are getting Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, heart trouble, and so many more health challenges. With modern medicine, how can this be happening? Simple, modern medicine is keeping us alive decades longer than our ancestors, and it makes us susceptible to diseases once reserved for the elderly. Boomers are now the elderly. Not that long ago, most of us would have been dead by 55. Now, we visit the doctor more often and hope our Medicare will still be in place to help us pay for our outrageously expensive health care. I think the cost of healthcare is the leading cause of death of boomers.
I saw a clip of some congressman, and I have no idea who he is, saying the country should scrap Social Security to force retired seniors back into the workforce where they are needed. This idea seems silly. While musicians like Paul McCartney, Ringo Star, Bruce Springsteen, and the Rolling Stones can be dancing around on stage in their eighties, many of us are paying the toll for real jobs that required hard physical work that broke down our bodies. We also didn’t have the money to go to a doctor at the sign of any little ache or pain. I encourage anyone who can afford to retire to do so. If you’re like me, you’ll be busier than when you worked, and you will enjoy it a lot more.
As part of my retirement, I get to travel more, and I will be doing that as soon as I find my keys.
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