Generations

 

I can--sometimes--get sucked into the internet and lost for hours.  One interesting thing I'm reading leads me to something else and then to something else and then to something else.  So, when I should be answering an email or studying for my certification course or...whatever...I end up learning a lot of new stuff.

So, today a 'young punk' (on the Facebook 'Korean expats' group I'm a member of) called someone who had an opinion of which she did not approve a 'Boomer.'  He might have been a Boomer and he might not have been a Boomer, but her point was to tell him that his opinion was worthless.

It led me to research the generation. Other places on the planet name generations, too--sometimes, but not as often as we--in America--seem to do.  What is fascinating to me is that almost every generation has multiple names and has--in the past--had even more of them that didn't 'catch on.'  For example, MY generation (the awesome-est one) is widely known as 'Generation X.'   However, at some point early on, they tried to call us 'The Baby Busters.'  That name just didn't stick, though.  I like our current moniker, truth be told.  However, there is another one that I like that rarely gets heard. It is 'The Thirteeners.'  Some call us this name cos we were the thirteenth generation to know the Constitution and live under our flag, "Old Glory." I like the connection it gives to the founding of this great nation.

The generation that ended about 1900 was called 'The Lost Generation' by the gregarious writer, Gertrude Stein. They were called so because they all came of age around the time that WWI (or The Great War) began. My birth-maternal grandpa, 'Papa JT' was one this generation, having been born in 1888.   My birth-maternal grandma, Paralee, along with all four of my other grandparents Claude, Millie, Gilbert, and Leola were members of 'The Greatest Generation or the G.I. Generation, so-named because many of them were adults during the era of Hitler's rise and WWII.  

The next generation is rarely mentioned.  It is called 'The Silent Generation.'  I haven't looked up why they are so-named, but they are the second longest named generation.  My Daddy and birth-mother were members of that generation.

Next came the babies of the returning WWII GIs, 'The Baby Boomers.'  My mom and paternal-birth father are members of this generation.  What is interesting is that this is the only generation that doesn't seem to have a second name! 

After X, was the Millennials, who are sometimes known as 'Generation Y' (after us!) who were born from the early/mid 80s up until the new century mark.  Generation Z follows them from the turn of the century to about 2010 or so.  They are also called 'The Centennials', 'The IGeneration' and 'The New Silent Generation.'   

It is all so interesting!

Constitutional

 A serene, cloudless, cerulean sky greets me as I close the front screen door. The amazing blue reminds me, not only of an Arizona sky, but also of Amelia's eyes as I check to see if my hips, shoulders, and ears are aligned and begin my doctor-ordered walk.

March 4th, 2010
A tiny, pale yellow butterfly friend accompanies me on my walk. She flutters along, slowly, dipping down--here and there--to visit a flower or a piece of grass or to check her look in the glass of a passing window.

The brittle brown leaves skitter along in front of me on the sidewalk--stopping and starting in an unknown pattern--encouraged by a gentle, patient, and persistent wind.

My butterfly friend disappears over the top of a dark grey slated roof and--when I am sure she is gone for good--she reappears in front of me and heads back the way we came.

I smile and turn slowly as she passes by me--close enough to touch if I were inclined to do so--and watch as she flutters--unsure--over the property line between our house and the next, and alights on our side to rest a bit and make sure I get in the house for my own rest.

Goodbye Arizona Sky and Brown Playful Leaves and Butterfly Friend, my fellow creations of God. Rehab is easier for me when you join me on these daily constitutionals.