I guess I'm a boomer born in 1956

The Leave it to Beaver generation, the 60's hippies, 70's coming of age, 80's Reagun ruined this country, 90's Big Dog Boom, and now Democracy has suffered a corporate buyout. Where do we go from here folks ?

it can only get better from here -- but I'm not quite the optimist I used to be! :(

someone once told me the political swing from one side to the other is in 30 year cycles...

I thought perhaps with Clinton we were heading for a left swing... but then along came duh-bya...

don't know -- was Clinton just a "hiccup" or is it duh-bya

With the big 50 fast approaching, I'm finally beginning to realize that I'm not as young as I think or feel.

We 55ers were a bit young to catch the best of the 60s. I used to say back then that we were too young to drive to the revolution. By the time we were older, the downhill slide had started with the disco and '50s nostaglia. Of course we were lucky to miss out on the draft although I do remember registering and think we had lottery numbers.

Now I'm mentally heading for the hills. I don't see any swing to the center, much less the left. Americans will have to learn the hard way that the policies of the past 25 years have failed us miserably.

I have to disengage some, the past four years have been too much and November was the last straw. I'm getting back to music and will be obsessing over my new hobby of geocaching.

my new hobby is cooking and gardening (and am vintage '55 too)

and one of my Xmas presents was new sheet music and strings for the guitar

guess i'm returning to my hippie roots :hippie:

i'm almost 50 too and really feeling my age. you know what i hate the most? declining eyesight! i always had 20/20 vision until i was about 45, and it has been all downhill since then. :-( also, the pounds just seem to creep up on ya, even when you watch your diet! and don't forget about the daily aches and pains....

ok, i'll stop!

soon to be 50 - in november....my first car was also a '55 model, chevy belair. i have to say that turning 50 is going to be traumatic for me. all the other milestones, 30, 40, meant nothing, but 50...it's well, half of 100 and most likely well past the halfway point of our lives.

i missed out on the true "hippie" days of the sixties, but was still into the natural foods, natural lifestyle, natural/home childbirth, organic gardening, rubber thong wearing (i'm a californian) mother earth news thang.

still hate bras too! peace and luv...

The future seems pretty uncertain, I have no hopes for the next four years with Chimpy. Hopefully people will start rioting.

I once read an historian who said (paraphrasing) that this country hasn't seen such a special generation since Lincoln's. (bet he is one of us??) There is an interesting book called (here's where getting older starts to hurt!) The 4th Turning, I believe. (Has anyone else read it?) It's about the generations and each of their roles in history. It was fascinating, and I sure wish I could remember more specifics -- but essentially a moniker is given to each generation -- one type spawns another type so you get this repetition going in history -- in 4's, if memory serves correctly. You can then look back and see which generation type was in the power seat at pivotal points, and how the characteristics of that generation pulled us through. The book also talks about an historical 4th turning, when all hell breaks loose and we have just entered it.

Like Lincoln's generation, we changed the paradigm. The WWII generation started the civil rights movement at the end of their power years with landmark legislation, but we took the hope into reality -- the sexual revolution/counter culture was entwined with women's rights and environmental awareness, and now, as we start to phase out our power years, we bring in another hope, gay rights, for the next generation to make a reality. We have always been special, and our work -- perhaps our greatest work -- is still ahead.