Why We Are Proud to Be Baby Boomers

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Why We Are Proud to Be Baby Boomers

Now that baby boomers are grandparents and many of us are retiring, it is our time in life to look back and reflect upon our memories. There is no doubt we baby boomers have lived through some of the most historical and turbulent times in history.

Most of us grew up in the 1950s or 1960s. The 50s were a rather peaceful time. At the beginning of that decade our families gathered around the radio in the living room and listened to shows like Fibber McGee & Molly, Gun smoke, Our Miss Brooks, Dragnet, and Suspense! By the end of that decade our television sets had replaced our radios and we were watching many of the same shows on TV in black and white.

What baby boomer doesn't remember the early TV shows that were aimed at us? Do you remember the Peanut Gallery where all the visiting kids sat on "The Howdy Doody Show?" Remember Buffalo Bob, Howdy, Dilly Dally, Mr. Bluster, Flub-a-dub and Clarabelle the clown?

We also watched TV shows with our parents, like "Leave it to Beaver," "My Three Sons," "Father Knows Best," "Life of Riley," and "The Rifleman."

Do you remember your older sister coming home from school each afternoon and turning the TV set on so she could watch Dick Clark and "American Bandstand?" Back then the show came on live from Philadelphia. Your sister could probably name every kid who danced on the show.

As we got older the times became more turbulent. Those of us who didn't live in the South were appalled when we saw images of racial segregation on TV. A huge outcry went out and teenage baby boomers all over the country joined in civil rights marches.

Pete Seeger, a folk singer we just lost who was a generation older than the boomers, said it was the young people who made the difference. The older folks told us to ignore the problem because we could do nothing to change it. It was the baby boomers who said the change had to happen!

Many of us Boomers were in high school in the mid to late 1960s and we remember when the Viet Nam War started escalating. More and more of us started being drafted as we graduated from high school. Viet Nam was the first war shown on television and people were terrified and outraged at the images they saw of young American boys dying half a world away.

Protest once again became the byword. On college campuses all across the country the baby boomers protested the war in Viet Nam. Protest songs dominated the music of the late 60s and early 70s. Who doesn't remember some of those great protest songs like "Eve of Destruction" "Blowing in The Wind" "Universal Soldier" "For What It's Worth" and a host of others?

Many of us were drafted and ended up in Southeast Asia. We all know more than classmate, friend or relative who died over there.

We still think about them from time to time and question why they gave their lives.

If you ever have a chance to visit the Viet Nam War Memorial Wall in Washington DC you will no doubt see a line of baby boomers searching for names of their friends and relatives who were killed in Viet Nam.

As baby boomers we are very proud of our music. After all, we are the ones who spawned Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, and rock and roll. You are very welcome.

What boomer doesn't remember the first time the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show? Our girlfriends swooned and we shook our heads in disgust. But even our disdain didn't last long. Soon we were all singing Beatles tunes. No wonder we were so upset when we learned the Beatles were breaking up back in the early 1970s.

When we started our careers in the 70s we worked in offices that had IBM electric typewriters and Xerox copy machines. Those two items, along with telephones, were about the extent of our office technology.

By the time we retired 40 years later our offices had personal computers, electronic tablets, iPhones, Skype, a million different software programs and a whole host of other technological stuff many of us never understood.

In the early days we used to do our accounting on adding machines and ledger cards. We witnessed our offices go from no computers to IBM main frames to computer networks with CRTs to personal computers to the cloud.

We sat in our classrooms back in the early 60s and read our in our "Weekly Readers" that President Kennedy wanted the United States to "land a man on the moon and safely return him to earth by the end of the decade."

We were young adults in 1969 as we watched Neil Armstrong step out of the lunar module and onto the moon's surface. We were spellbound. Who didn't go out that night and look up at the moon in wonder and think about the men actually walking on its face?

Of course shortly after that we started getting married, having children, raising families, buying homes, working at our careers, and just generally living our lives. Most of us have seen the White House change occupants about a dozen times. We have lived through wars, national tragedies and national celebrations.

Our kids grew up, went to school, got their education, kissed us goodbye and moved out to start their own lives. We first lost our grandparents and then our parents. We are now starting a new phase of our lives.

We know along the way we have messed several things up. We just hope we have not messed them up too much for our children and grandchildren.

Yes, we are the baby boomers. And we wouldn't have it any other way. We have had the privilege of living through one of the greatest periods in history of civilization. And we are proud our generation will leave behind a rich heritage of both social and cultural change.

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Recent Comments

7

Oh yes! I was watching Ed Sullivan the night the Beatles debuted. That's one of those things you never forget.

I remember watching the Beatles too...but I did'nt get it at the time. It was still fun to watch.

Fun to read your blog and reminisce!

I remember some of these things but I know I was not born yet for some either. I guess I am on the tail end of the baby boomers? Born in 1962? Lori

Yes that's correct. The baby boomers where born between 1946 and 1964. That makes you a "baby" baby boomer...I think.

Right there with ya but from Canada. We've seen lots, done lots, and adapted to lots...and now we're working online. Most important to me is the legacy we are leaving behind and how we're showing our kids and grand kids what's important. Thanks for this.

Thank you for reading my post, Rick. Wish you the best.

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