Mrs. McGillicuddy, et al...

 

Some names become representative of a type of person -- so much so that a name may come to conjure up a stereotypical image. This is not fair really and often it is inaccurate.  Nevertheless, I don’t know of anyone who would name a sweet baby girl Marie Antoinette, and it seems that the name Karen (a perfectly lovely name) is now experiencing a burst of unpopularity in some circles.

Nurse Ratched of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has come to refer to any woman who appears to be cold, heartless and ... scary.  Mrs. McGillicuddy of I Love Lucy comes to mind when thinking of Edith Bunker and the like – "… dimwitted, scatterbrained, but still loving…” and loveable.  Gladys Kravitz - of Bewitched is now any nosy neighbor.  Sort of fun really to think about. These examples are obviously linked to the Baby Boomer generation although some overlap occurs  -- some do span generation gaps. There are reruns after all....

Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) will probably recognize them all.  Not sure what names would do the same for all the letter generations.  You know who I mean. Generation X (born 1965-1980, Generation Y (the Millennials we hear so much about these days (born 1981-1995), and Generation Z (born 1996-2010).  I mean Z – really?  Where does one go after being the last letter in an entire alphabet? (Generation Z is apparently also referred to as the New Silent Generation.  Again I repeat -- really?  Doesn’t seem fitting somehow.)  Who does this generation naming?  Anyway – back to my question of where does one go after the end of the alphabet?  It seems that you start with a different alphabet.  Those born 2011-2025 are now being called Generation Alpha.  Heavy….  So now you know.

I think it is interesting though that names also come to have meanings and associations of a personal nature. If your childhood and lifelong best friend’s name is Mary, I am thinking you will always associate good things with that name. Mine is and I do. The reverse is also true – in my experience.  For example, the name Stella has majorly negative connotations for me.  Stella was the name of my Great Grandfather’s second wife. Stella was the housekeeper and my great grandfather married her some years after the passing of his first wife. Stella was hateful toward and mean to my Mom, so I don’t like her. Never knew her. Doesn't matter. She died long before I was born.  Doesn’t make a difference.  I don’t like her.   I don't like the name Stella. It’s that simple. Perhaps a bit more info will clarify - my Mom was forced to leave her grandfather’s home at the age of 16, with just the clothes on her back, never to return again.  Why?   ... because she, in a moment of desperation, frustration, hurt and anger, etc., smashed a bowl of mashed potatoes into Stella’s face during Sunday dinner and then had the audacity to refuse to apologize.  It’s a long story really, but I always loved the spunk of it all. Stella deserved the mashed potatoes. Trust me on that. I should mention that my mom, prior to this, had lived her entire life with her grandfather.  Heartbreaking really when you think about it. I picture a sad young girl -- standing alone - outside the door.  No wonder my Mom was big on saying – pull yourself up by your boot straps and get on with it.   Yep, I will always think of the name Betty as spunky -- with all its positive connotations.   I so admire gumption. And speaking of the name Betty -- that wasn't my Mom's given name.  She found out when she left her grandfather's home that her real name was Clara... Her last name was different too... but... that is another story. Names are interesting -- on several levels.

 

 

Some things never change.

 

Recently I met several cousins for lunch.  It is always fun to get together with them.  I love them.  We had gotten into the pleasant habit of getting together about once a month, but haven’t been able to do that for at least the past year.  We all know why that is.  Anyway –

Isn’t it lovely to hang out with people who know you?  It’s like that with old friends too – not just family, but family/friends are the best. You have shared a lifetime or important parts of one. It is just plain wonderful to be with people who get you and who can take whatever you say without a whole lot of judgement – even if they don’t agree with you. It’s important, too, that such acceptance works both ways – i.e. - even if you don’t agree with them. But – there is also something else that is wonderful about such get-togethers….

People of a like age understand each other on a unique level.  I mean – we have Dick Tracy, Captain Kangaroo, and I Love Lucy in common. We share blips of the past and can make jokes and references that everyone at the table understands. We know how to read maps.  Not only that – we can laugh together about the whole “getting older” thing.  One cousin mentioned that he had reached the age where staff in a doctor’s office call him “Honey”.  Okay – you can find that humorous or not, but I think it is hysterical… not that young whipper snappers call him Honey, but that he sees the humor in this.  Yep – we have become and are the older generation.  It is sometimes a painful process. It isn’t, for example, always fun to realize that people are not taking you as seriously as they did at one time.

Recently I was reading comments in a chat room somewhere (not sure why) and some annoyingly energetic young thing mentioned with great hilarity and a flurry of smiley emojis that she was out-paced in the swimming pool by a senior citizen.  Wish it had been me. 

I must also admit, and I mentioned this at the cousin gathering, that sometimes I am not amused by people speaking to me as if I were hard of hearing. I may be, but it is still a bit insulting for them to assume. Perhaps they may be so inspired by the white hair “thing” or by all the well-earned wrinkles.  I mean – young folk should not make generalizations (neither should the more seasoned).  It is narrow minded of anyone to do this. I don’t assume that they are all incompetent fools – aka nincompoops .... I at least wait for further evidence to see if they are.  Plus -- there are many, many, remarkably competent young people in the world.  I know this. I raised some of them. I have seen them all over the place. I have taught them. I have worked with them. It would behoove those who discount the older generation to acknowledge that there are a lot of competent older people as well. They might also find it wise not to underestimate them.

Making things even more difficult in the generation gap issue is rapid change. Some have a hard time keeping up with these changes.  Some of us don’t want to try.   Ah change….  Case in point -- one of my cousins was telling me just two mornings ago about her two youngest precious grandkids who were playing “Grub Hub” -- one would prepare the food and the other would deliver it.  My Granddaughter and I often pretend that my house is an Airbnb and we do everything from taking reservations to interviewing potential staff.  (She takes on the role of each interviewee and uses different accents and hairdos for each person.  It becomes a laugh fest every time.)  Back to the main subject though….  These games are amazing to me and seriously their invention makes a statement that is representative of how our worlds differ.  What games did we play as children? I know you can remember them. I can’t think of one at the moment that had a name, but… you know what I mean. Just think – we didn’t even have fast food or the concept of an Airbnb when we were growing up. Did we even have them 5 years ago?   We didn’t have a lot of things - four/six/eight+ lane highways or microwaves or air fryers or….  My how the world changes. 🤔😬  Hey – when we were little, we didn’t even have television or A/C in cars let alone in houses. I remember party lines and when direct distance dialing was first introduced on what we now “remember” as land lines.  My -- how I do ramble. I see that often these days, but figure you will understand.

A lot of my reading audience are of the older generation and they are viewing it from all over the world.  I love that. (Last week I had viewers in Lithuania and the week before that the first viewers from Indonesia.) This blog is actually geared toward Boomers (the American older generation) and “older” generation in general – although I do love that many of the younger readers tell me sometimes that I make them laugh. I don’t ask them what it is that they find humorous.  Not sure I want to know. Anyway -- I am a Boomer and proud of it.  I say “Stand tall”. Not everything we do or say makes us worthy of the condescending eye roll.  Right?  I mean, for one thing – who is it who has maintained all the family traditions?

Take heart, Boomers…  – those who find us “trying” or “amusing” will be our age at some point in time – if they are lucky… and then they will know.  My heart goes out to them. It’s a journey. I say – to all generations – cherish your family and friends, laugh with those you love, look forward, and remember your past. All are of value. I would also say, "Be patient".  Remember that the older women who is taking a bit too long for your patience level could be your mom or grandma. Perhaps also keep in mind that “Growing old isn’t for cowards”.  Ralph Waldo Emerson told us that.  Some things never change.

100th From Pencilbox to Keyboard

Funny how looking back on time makes it seem like it has passed so quickly.  In the Fall of 2014 I took a course at the local Higher Ed because I wanted to know what a blog was.  My first blog was posted on October 30th of that year with the help of my most patient and knowledgeable instructor, Chelsea Oliver. Now in what seems like no time at all -- today is the 100th blog that I have written and posted on Google Blog Spot, and From Pencilbox to Keyboard has been viewed over 12,000 times. Blogging has been an amazing and positive experience... thanks to all of you who read it, and sometimes take time to react, comment and even to share.  

Developing a reader base has been a slow process but -- today I have readers all over the world -- popularity varies from day to day - country to country depending on some unknown and unidentifiable reason. Sometimes I have a bunch of readers in Romania or France and then at other times, it is in Mexico, China and Poland. Go figure. Interestingly -- although I have a lot of readers in almost thirty other countries in which English is not the native language, I have very few readers in the UK or Canada.  How do I know this? Google Blogger tracks it all -- not specifics on individual readers, just the country that is linking in. I have had individuals from faraway places comment on Blogger itself and have been able to have "conversations" with them. I had one message from a CEO of some logistics company in Sweden who enjoyed my writing about my grandchildren. It is reassuring to see that there are certain values that are shared by people all over the world. (We should concentrate more on these shared values and less on the differences, methinks.) Anyway - it has been a wonderful learning experience all the way around.  What I love the most, have to say, are the comments and "likes" on Facebook -- these are from people I know and especially care about. Thank you all for reading, commenting and sharing.  I appreciate you.  You have expanded my world. 

My intent from the beginning of this blog was to reach out to those I refer to as "Maturing" Baby Boomers. I, of course, include myself in this most special group.  There are a great many of us out there, yet we do not always remember that we are not alone in the particular challenges of our times.  I personally like to be quietly reminded once in a while that I am not alone -- that I am not standing on a cliff screaming into the wind. Plus -- it is reassuring to know that others also sometimes feel sort of "out of it".  The thing is -- ironically -- it doesn't really bother me to be "out of touch" in some ways.  I, for instance, wouldn't know Beyonce, Rihanna, or Britney Spears if I ran into them on the street, and... I don't care in the least. So -- that being said -- I know that, even if at times a bit out of touch with each other and with the outside world, we are a good bunch -- we have given a lot to the world and still have a great deal to offer.  Yet -- we need each other sometimes to reaffirm our worth, to commiserate about our difficulties and to join together in laughter... that last may be the most important of all. Laughter is a supportive and positive bonding for sure. 

Anyway -- at the end of this 100th post, I thank you all, most sincerely for reading, commenting and sharing.  I appreciate you. You "get it". Thanks for being there. I am proud to be one of you.  Go Boomers! "May the Force be with you."

The Graying of America...

Those of us who were born between 1946 and 1964 are called Baby Boomers.   We have accomplished social change on several levels and in several areas of American life.  We have, on the lighter side, survived the peasant blouse and bell bottoms and have made jeans acceptable even for weddings. Our generation has made some outstanding movies, and has contributed positively to the world of music, and electronics.  Although Boomers may not be able to take credit for GPS, Post-it notes, microwave popcorn or luggage with wheels, our generation has brought a great number of things into being. What would our lives be without Tupperware or the imitations thereof?  Think of the positive contributions of cat litter, cable TV, the Zamboni, the crash test dummy, and the airsickness bag, not to mention Buffalo Wings, WD-40 or the lint roller. The list could go on and on....

On a more serious note -- we continue to make major contributions to the economic stability of our country because we have the money power of being the largest population group in our wonderful country -- or close to it. We have given birth to, have taken care of and, in some cases, are still taking care of Gen X and Gen Y while at the same time caring for our parents. What a job! Some call us the "Sandwich" generation because of this. No wonder our hair is turning white...or graying. 

Might as well face it, Boomers, we are literally the "Graying of America"...at least those of us are who have come to terms with our gray or white hair. It's not so awful.  Think of it this way.  We are in good company. When we band together, we are an impressive "gray wave". Seriously -- a close look at our generation speaks pretty well for us -- you just have to ignore a few things...but then -- every generation makes mistakes.  Just think -- Gen X and Gen Y are going to have to own up to being responsible for reality TV. There is that.