Get with the Times, Baby Boomers!

Over the past few months, I’ve occasionally run into an online article telling me all the ways that baby boomers are totally lame, and there are many. Once I skimmed through a list of grievances that seemed endless. Actually, it might have been, because I quit reading around item number 78, sent the screen fast scrolling a couple of times, until I saw number 127. I decided to quit then before I found out that I was breathing in an old-fashioned way.

The truth is, I know I’m out-of-date. My digital struggles, whether with my computer, smart phone, or self-checkout lanes, are more than proof of it. And while I certainly don’t enjoy those struggles, otherwise I’m fairly content.

Many of the items just make me laugh. Fashion is usually a problem to these list makers. I know that some people, no matter what their age, are very interested in fashion. That’s great. But I also know that if they care, they’re paying attention to what’s happening in the world of fashion. The width of your pants, the length of your skirt, whether crocs are great or so yesterday—they know all this. Often instinctively.

I keep an eye on fashion trends out of curiosity, amusement, and sometimes bafflement. I once read that the late comedienne, Gilda Radnor, said that she based her fashion choices on what didn’t itch. Similarly, I base my clothing choices on what’s comfortable. I try not to look peculiar, but years ago I gave up gorgeous shoes that hurt, and clothing that needs constant checking and adjusting. I get dressed in the morning and then forget about it.

I take issue with the list makers’ lack of imagination. If it’s not the way they do things now, they can’t imagine why anyone would do it differently. I have carried credit cards pretty much since they were created, and for a long time I had my checkbook, but I have always carried cash. There were times when I wanted to keep careful track of my spending and using actual paper money helped. Pulling two or three 20s out of my wallet meant something. When I swipe a credit card, it hardly registers. And occasionally I’m in a store or restaurant that only takes cash, and my younger companions are usually stuck. Fortunately, I can help.

My biggest problem with these writers is their lack of interest in doing any research. The last list I breezed through talked about how awful it was that baby boomers ate so many canned and prepared foods. The comment was “did they get tired of eating fresh foods?”

Where do I start? As those of us who’ve been around for more than forty or fifty years know, a great deal of scientific and technological advances were made during World War II. After the war, many of those advances were recycled to make everyday life easier. Homemakers were provided with canned and frozen foods that meant they didn’t need to shop daily. Along with boxed and prepared foods, it meant that they didn’t have to spend hours each day preparing meals. Should I even mention that fresh doesn’t always mean that it was picked today? Or even yesterday.

So, go ahead and make your lists telling me how out of date I am. I refuse to be intimidated by some young whippersnapper, by crackey!