We are the Baby Boomers and we love to hear ourselves roar! And why not? We taught the world how to Twist and do The Hustle. We ate the first Happy Meals and rotated the first Hoola Hoops. We showed the world how to reach for the moon and walk upon it. We even discovered a new world called Cyberspace.
We Baby Boomers walk through our time with the likes of John Travolta and Princess Diana and Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton and Madonna and Christopher Reeves and Donald Trump and O.J. Simpson and we believe that while everyone gets their fifteen minutes of fame, our fifteen minutes shines brighter and lasts longer.
More. More. More. I think Baby Boomers want more than any other generation ever wanted. We want to have our cake and eat it, too. We want a career and we want to stay home and run our own businesses while we baby-sit our grandkids and care for our aging parents – at the same time. We want a sex life that lasts into our nineties, and we want a younger body, firmer skin, more money, a longer career, stronger bones and bladders.
In other words, we want it all.
And we want it now.
We’ve come a long way. We’ve gone from Ward Cleaver to Ozzy Osbourne. From White-Out to Delete. From penpals to Twitter. From girdles to Gastric Bands. From Polio Vaccines to Viagara. From library cards to AARP memberships. From curfews to senior discounts.
And we’ve still got miles to go. And uncharted territories to cross. It’s a new world for the Baby Boomers. A world with no vowels. (If you don’t believe me, check out your grandkids’ Text Messages.) A world with no private phone calls. (If you don’t believe me, look around the next restaurant you enter.) A world of reality television and fantasy cyberlife. (If you don’t believe me, check out Big Brother and www.SecondLife.com)
Don’t worry, Baby Boomers will adapt. We love a challenge. We love to come together and commiserate and laugh and share a story and give advice and hold a hand and talk, talk, talk. There’s so much to talk about. And so much to read about. We’ve entered the digital age and it’s time to throw away the typewriters and notepads and stationery and even our analogue television signals. The world has changed. We’re stepping into unknown territory.
As a famous little girl once said, “We’re not in
Facebook and Twitter and Ipods, oh my!
No, we’re not in Kansas anymore, but we don’t care. We’re not afraid. We’re ready to see what comes next … and do it with grace and humor and poise. Why? ‘Cause we’re the Baby Boomers and Boomers Rule!
c2009 Linda S Amstutz
This essay premiered in The BABY BOOMER News magazine, October 2009.
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4 comments:
I like the story even better with the picture at the top - my stylin', skinny high school friend!
Thanks, Deborah. I was shocked at the lack of trees in the photo. btw, that car cost me all of $33 monthly for my loan. Those were the days!!
What a beauty! Yes, Linda, I mean you not the car.
Although the car is pretty snappy looking too.
Thank you, Martin, but I can't take any credit. In 1968, we were all good-looking!
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