Howdy Doody Time!

It would be hard to think of a more universal touchstone for baby boomers than the Howdy Doody Show. Say kids, what time is it? It’s Howdy Doody time!!!

There came a time when just about every local TV station had a kids show (the one I remember was Ranger Andy), but Howdy Doody got there first. And the show didn’t just entertain us boomers — it sold TV sets, cereal, lunch boxes and a lot of other products. Advertisers definitely took notice.

It all started with New York radio NBC affiliate WEAF, where Big Brother Bob Smith was the voice of a ranch hand on a show called The Triple B Ranch. He would greet the audience by saying “Oh, ho, ho, howdy doody.” Just the kind of nonsensical wordplay children love to hear, and love to repeat.

It was a short leap from there to the Howdy Doody Show and a whole cast of characters who lived in Doodyville. That named seemed rather benign when I was 7 or 8 years old, but in retrospect it sounds like a weird place to live. Buffalo Bob talked to the marionettes as if they were real, so even though we could see the strings on the puppets as plain as day, we began to think of them as real people. And what a collection of characters– Phineas T. Bluster with his flying eyebrows on separate strings, along with Flub-a-Dub and Dilly Dally. And the live characters were just as interesting. Chief Thunderthud of Kawabonga fame and Princess Summerfall Winterspring were pretty captivating. Clarabell Hornblow provided some of the slapstick and was played by Bob Keeshan, who most of you should remember later became Captain Kangaroo! He sprayed seltzer on everyone and we all laughed like the chuckleheads that we were.

I had forgotten that the show originally came on in the early evening, but I do remember that it came on just after Gabby Hayes. When the show came to an end in 1960, it was after airing 2,343 programs. It had its educational moments and teaching opportunities, but mostly I remember the slapstick, some goofy songs and the spraying seltzer, along with an unexplainable yearning for Princess Summerfall Winterspring (I began to think of her as pretty hot looking just as I hit puberty).

Who didn’t want to be in the Peanut Gallery bleachers when the Princess was in town? I guess when I was more interested in the Princess than the puppets, my Doodyville days were over, but I still remember them fondly.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

Road Trip!

 Looking forward to hitting the road, any road, as the post pandemic travel frenzy has taken hold across the nation. All this talk of road trips reminded me of our family’s road trips, such as they were. You could not really call them road trips. More like Sunday drives where Dad had no idea where he was going or how we were getting back home. It would be more accurate to call them Lost Trips.

Picture this: the 1956 Ford in Forest Green; family of 6, Mom, Dad, 2 girls and 2 boys. One sister had a coffee can in her lap in order to address periodic car sickness. I don’t remember the exact configuration, but I’m guessing it was 3 in the front with oldest sister between Mom and Dad, and 3 in the back with next oldest sister and the 2 boys.

After traveling for some distance we would see signs announcing the number of miles to some town in New Hampshire, and since we had started out 2 states away, it was time for Dad to try to figure out how to get home. No point in consulting a map. He would just keep looking for highway markers that indicated the road went south. Sure enough, there was always a route that would take us back to the general vicinity of where we started.

My recollection (flawed as it must be) is that we hardly ever stopped, except perhaps to empty that coffee can. I also recall that it was dark when we arrived home. That means that these Lost Trips might have been in the 3 to 5 hour range. The only aspect of the trip that was adventurous was guessing how long it would take Dad to find a way home.

Maybe this sort of road trip is perfect for these not so safe times. No mask necessary if you never get out of the car. Cars are now equipped with DVD/video players installed in the back of the front seat headrests. The kids can watch the latest Disney flick while Dad motors up the Interstate. And no more getting lost, because there’s a map app right there in the dash. Put in your destination, in this case home, and get turn by turn instructions all the way back.

Yes, the adventure is gone and yes, it’s strange for the kids to each be watching their own movie, but the family is safe and somewhat together in their post-pandemic cocoon. Some day they might even be nostalgic for these times.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

What Do They Want?

 

AARP Magazine had an article recently about what millennials want from their boomer parents. As you would expect, it doesn’t exactly match up. Boomers want to unload a bunch of stuff that their offspring does not want (picture furniture, silver, knickknacks, books, etc.).

But all is not lost. The millennials do want some stuff after all. So here goes. Listen up.

They want photos. Not all of them, mind you, just the family pix that interest them. Okay, that wasn’t so bad was it?

They want knickknacks, but once again, not all of them. They only want some small mementos, a serving dish perhaps, not the entire set of dishes.

Then there’s toys. A cherished stuffed animal or favorite game are things they can pass on to their own children, so there’s a few keepers.

When it comes to actual assets, millennials are not expecting a large inheritance. But if you want to give them one of your cars, or better yet, how about a house, they are all in on that deal.

Grandma’s collection of recipes is something they might cherish. Likewise, with vinyl coming back into vogue, millennials would not refuse your record collection. Face it, there’s some seminal music in there!

Tools are on the list of desirables as well. Hand tools and power tools (if they are in good condition) make the list because it’s quite a savings to have them handed down rather than purchased new.

Jewelry that has special meaning is also on the millennial shopping list. Not the costume stuff, but signature pieces such as one of grandma’s rings or a pendant.

Artwork they made as children is on the list along with items they can repurpose. Using an antique chest as a coffee table or some other purpose appeals to them.

Bottom line: If it’s something that feels like it will weigh them down (the big ugly recliner or a 112-piece set of silver service), you can bet they don’t want it.

Best idea: Ask them now what they would want so you can set it aside and they know it’s there waiting for them. Better yet, if you’re not using it, give it to them now.

What happens to everything else? Do everyone a favor and stipulate that it be donated to people who need and will be grateful for your generosity.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

Got I

Dear LouAnn

I received the poem you emailed me this morning, and while I have never before responded to what some would call spam mail, the power of your words has compelled me to react.

Of course, the title blew me away and is responsible for me opening your message in the first place.

steam execrate munificent knifelike perturbation

It’s almost erotic in its jangled phonetic alliteration and who uses pertubation these days? Fantastic, just spellbinding.

And then with no preamble, you catapult into the cavity of your cathartic calvacade of free verse:

catheter execrate capacity catheter
consultative particular perdition fixate vulcan sara
propos installation steam ann
fixate declamatory particular celery propos bracken particular nakayama celery bracken
vulcan celery hawkins swedish
tennessee rockbound va bracken abstain particular makeup mckay
gustav papery letitia uproot va bellicose va celery rockbound

I’ll admit that the back and forth emphasis on assonance and consonance was a bit off-putting at first, but then it just grows on you. The allegorical references to sara, ann, hawkins, mckay, gustav and letitia were inspired. As symbols of repressed ids, it conveys perfectly the pent up sexual desire they feel for one another.

The reference to nakayama was a little bit obscure for me, but upon Googling the word, I learned that they are Japanese wheels and that helped the whole celery metaphor to fall into place.

Unfortunately, bracken remains a mystery. I know that it’s a type of fern, but it seems so antithetical to the importance of the celery and it’s rarely found in Sweden, so I could use some help in understanding this element.

The repetition of rockbound did not go unnoticed either. It seemed to me to be an ideal way to anchor the verse to the hard, unyielding firmament, and the emotional cold shoulder given to the poem by those who do not understand it.

Once again, I compliment you on your work and look forward to reading more of your poems in the very near future.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

It's Complicated

Sooo…boomers once again have a target on their backs, and this time it’s about housing. Or the lack thereof. The housing supply in the U.S. is now at record-low inventory. We’re short by almost 4 million homes to meet the demand. Boomers make up 28 per cent of the adult population but they own 44 per cent of the real estate.

Tack on the fact that boomers are not selling their homes as they age, and the problem gets worse. Boomers are staying put because they want to age in their homes, not in assisted or nursing homes. They like where they live and being close to friends, grocery stores, etc. And, even more importantly, they are healthy enough to stay put and not require aging-friendly housing.

So, the shortage is our fault. Oops.

Wait a minute. Some experts say don’t blame boomers, just build more housing. Problem with that idea is that current zoning makes it difficult to build anything but single-family homes. Most communities, urban and suburban, would rather have single-family owners. That rules out duplexes, condos, and tiny houses.

What the hell is wrong with a duplex? That’s what a lot of people would like to know. A duplex obviously doubles the number of families that can live in one dwelling. That should be a no brainer in many communities. Also, I get why you don’t want a tiny home next door, but in many urban areas land could be set aside for a cluster of tiny homes and there is an enthusiastic audience for that type of efficient housing.

Many communities are just now realizing they must modify their zoning to meet the demand and allow their community to grow with diversified types of housing. You have to hope that baby boomers won’t stand in the way of the trend toward more tolerant zoning. Otherwise we will be catching the blame once again.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

What's That Sound?

Just a few bars of Mr. Soul and I get instant flashback in the time machine to somewhere around 1967. My allegiances were split between the Motown Sound and the new music that was coming out of San Francisco. But Buffalo Springfield took everyone by surprise. They only made 3 studio albums before everyone went their separate ways…and don’t forget that Buffalo Springfield begat Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, plus Poco, and then Loggins and Messina.

Despite the briefness of their time on the scene, they sure had a long lasting impact on musical genres. Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay were all singers, songwriters and guitarists from the folk and country traditions, but they melded this background and their talents into a new kind of rock sound that no one had ever heard before. The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Jackson Browne and the Eagles all have acknowledged their debt to the band’s influences on their work.

Neil Young may have been the most interesting lyricist, but Stephen Stills played great guitar, and Furay had perhaps the most pleasing vocal sound. Maybe it was the timing of trying to break through at the same time the Beatles were dominating rock music, but for some reason people did not truly appreciate the Buffalo Springfield sound until the band broke up. It’s one of the few cases where a band got more airplay after their demise than in their prime. Still, they deserve the credit for practically inventing folk-rock and country-rock.

Going back to listen to some of their prime material, such as For What It’s Worth, Expecting to Fly, Bluebird and Kind Woman, you can foretell that everyone is going to go their separate ways, but it does not in any way diminish the pleasure you can get from listening to ground-breaking musicians like these.

There’s somethin’ happening here,
What it is ain’t exactly clear.
There’s a man with a gun over there,
Tellin’ me I gotta beware.
I think it’s time we stop,
Hey, what’s that sound,
Everybody look what’s going down.

For What It’s Worth, Stephen Stills, 1966

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

• No Labels?

  

• What’s That Sound?

  

• Connections

  

• None of my Business

  
  

• No Labels?

  
  

• What’s That Sound?

  

No Labels

But how will we be able to tell which generation to blame? That was my first thought when I saw that a group of demographers and social scientists was asking the Pew Research Center to stop promoting the use of generation labels (e.g.Silent Generation, baby boomers, Generation X, millennials, etc.).

 

It’s been all too easy to blame baby boomers for a whole host of societal ills, but if you stop to think about it, that means you’re blaming your 75 year-old brother along with a 63 year-old sister. You would expect twelve years age difference would have significant impact in their respective outlooks and behavior.

This name game supposedly started with the “Lost Generation” appellation in the late 19^th century. But then it mushroomed into the Greatest Generation, the Beat Generation, Boomers, Gen X, Gen Z, Snowflake Generation, etc. The labels seem like fun, but when journalists and marketing firms start making generalizations about your generation, the party the fun is not so much.

Demographers say the classifications are not real, and you would have to acknowledge that at this moment in time there is one hell of a lot of disparity in what baby boomers are thinking and how they are behaving. Just take the last election or the current political party divide as one example of how useless it is to try to categorize baby boomers.

Maybe one day we can drop all the labels and just try to get along.

Nah! It will never happen. Everyone from journalists to armchair philosophers thinks they have a God given right to pigeonhole one generation after another, so good luck with ending that practice. Guess it’s up to us as individuals to try and stop labeling each other and just try to listen to each other.

Nah! That’s not going to happen either. You can just continue on with your stereotypes, and I’ll go on with mine.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

Leo's Back in Town

 Another in a series of chance meetings with local celebs.

Coming out of the Cerrillos Road Sherwin Williams store (you know, the people with the Cover the Earth with paint logo), and who should I almost knock over but Leonardo.

Leo! Come va? I see you got your hands full with 2 gallons there. Working on something new?

Art is never finished, only abandoned.

Don’t I know it. I hope you’re doing something easier than a ceiling.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

True dat. Hey, are you still seeing that babe with the great smile? I thought you two would make a great couple.

Marriage is like putting your hand into a bag of snakes in the hope of pulling out an eel.

Sheesh, man, you’re making me cry.

Tears come from the heart and not from the brain.

Well, in my opinion, Mona was a real looker.

The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.

Hey, I was just saying she seemed like someone you could spend some quality time with.

Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!

Harsh, but I hear you. Just looking out for you. You feel me?

The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.

That’s what I’m talking about. And people still respect your art. You’re still considered one of the greatest of all time.

Nothing should be so greatly feared as empty fame.

Gotcha. Well, I don’t want to hold you up, what with a gallon in each hand, I’m guessing you need to get to work.

As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death.

A little too dark for me man, but it was good to see you again and know that you’re still painting. Arrivederci, ciao, ciao.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

What A Croc

Saw a social media alert the other day that proclaimed boomers just can’t give up some uncool things. What followed was an interesting list that came as a slideshow, forcing you to click NEXT over and over in order to see the list. Oh, and you also had to see dozens of ads of course. The ultimate click bait exercise. But, since my mission is to write about all things boomer, I dutifully clicked through the list.

Leading off the list of uncool things that boomers cannot quit was Jorts. Know what those are? I never heard of the term, but the accompanying photo showed a man wearing blue jean shorts. Get it? Jorts. The site insisted that jorts were ridiculous because denim is too heavy to be worn as shorts. Can’t say that I disagree but I also can’t say that I’ve seen any baby boomers wearing them.

Next on the list was 24-hour news. Boomers are uncool because they watch 24-hour news? But on the upside, it might make them more well-informed than people who only watch the Bachelorette. This was followed by Hawaiian Shirts. Now we’re getting somewhere. Boomers probably do wear too many of these shirts, but rarely with jorts so that should count for something.

Then came Dad Slacks, Home Shopping Networks and Velcro Shoes. Fine with me. Those really are very passé. Likewise, Cruises, All-You-Can-Eat Buffets, Sweepstakes and Crocs could go the way of the dodo bird and I wouldn’t shed any tears.

Three items on the list baffled me. Emailing, Ironing and Toast. Sure, texting and DM’s are the dominant forms of communication for all of us, but emails are still useful for complex content. And ironing a nice cotton shirt to wear for an evening out? What’s your problem? Toast? It’s not as cool as waffles and breakfast burritos apparently. Try it with buttered homemade bread slathered with homemade jam and then try to tell me that toast is toast.

And you’re welcome. I clicked through all those stupid ads just for you.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

 

Liar, Liar

I’m the last person who would sign up for a high school reunion, but I freely admit I am curious to know what happened to everyone. Maybe I could just read the book (or wait for the movie). It would be fun to know if some of the high school girlfriends got married (and whether they are still married or twice divorced by now). There’s also the fantasy where the goody two shoes girl who could do nothing wrong got busted on a prostitution charge, but that never happens. She really was perfect, and still is, although she has paid a tremendous price by enduring 30 years of therapy to try to feel like something approaching normal. I have some perverse curiosity about whether Doug still plays the trombone and was Barry really gay or just pretending to be. We didn’t even use the word gay back then! Do the former majorettes still have thighs that can mesmerize me, or are those days gone forever?

Back in my hometown on one of my infrequent visits, I heard a woman’s name mentioned that I knew was familiar. She was the mother of a high school classmate who was a good friend. I approached and explained that I had gone to high school with her daughter. She remembered me and we struck up a conversation.

“So what is she doing now?” I really wanted to know.

“She is raising llamas in Maine.”

“Wow, that’s different.”

“She loves it. She started about 5 years ago and it’s turned into quite a business, harvesting the llama wool.”

“I know she always loved animals, but it seems like a surprising career choice.”

“You never know what life has in store for you. What are you doing now?”

There it was. The big loaded question. What are you doing now? Do you tell the truth or make up the big lie? Has your life been so boring that you can’t bear to tell the truth to someone who is almost a stranger? What’s wrong with me? Why am I debating this question with myself?

“I’m running a mule team,” I replied with a straight face. “If you think wrangling llamas is difficult, try hitching a bunch of independent-minded mules to a harness and getting them to do something at the same time.”

“I’ll bet that is tricky,” the mother said. She was looking at me with a sidelong glance, maybe trying to see it if I was putting her on. “You must love it though.”

“Oh sure, I get the biggest kick out of it.” And I really meant it.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

Who's Old

Feeling old? Looking old? Having a great old time? What do you consider old anyway? 60? 65? 70? 75?

When boomers are surveyed about aging, they tend to define it in terms of 3 key markers: inability to perform certain functions like they used to; not understanding topical pop-culture references (Lil Nas X anyone? Anyone?); and last but not least, cosmetic decay (which is a not so nice reference to wrinkles, gray hair, lost hair, etc.).

Sixty per cent of those surveyed thought that having to ask someone to read the fine print was a definite sign they were getting old. Grunting while trying to get out of a seat hit a chord with 37 per cent. Twenty-four per cent thought they were old because they were not on TikTok. That last one is laughable. Knowing that TikTok exists but not wanting to waste your time on it should not qualify you as over the hill. And you can throw Facebook in that category as well.

Forty-seven per cent were uncomfortable being identified as old and offended when being called old. Many of these same people are ignoring worsening medical issues just so they won’t feel like they are old. They are hoping, no, actually convinced that the signs will disappear. Talk about De Nile!

So, you want to feel younger? Experts have some simple advice. So simple, a lot of boomers won’t bother to follow it, but here goes:

• Reduce stress
• Improve your diet
• Exercise regularly

You follow these 3 tips and you can shave 10 years off your biological age according to the experts. Ten years! Such a deal! You feel better, eat better, and look better, and in return you live longer.

Take it! This offer won’t last long!

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

• Listen Up

  

• Savages

• 
  

• Who’s Old

  

Listen Up!

Rock, Folk, Classical, Jazz, Latin. R&B, World Music, Blues, Soul, Reggae, Country, Comedy, Gospel, Soundtracks, Spoken Word.

Does the list strike a chord? Pardon the pun, but if the answer is yes, you must have been a record store habitué. Maybe the record store you frequented had a booth where someone was playing records on a turntable. If you wanted to sample a track of a new album, they would go in the booth and play it for you. Now it’s easier to go to the Browse section of Apple Music in order to make music buying decisions.

The tactile sensation of flipping through the stacks of record albums is hard to duplicate on a computer, however. No one pays much attention to the art on the front of a CD jewel case – we just download and play. In the record store, you might find yourself buying an album because of the art on the front or the liner notes on the back.

Then too, there was the chance to share your discoveries with friends. Hanging at the record store was something you could do as a group. One of you was into Folk, someone else only liked Soul music, and there had to be someone who went nuts for Comedy records.

Vinyl is making a determined comeback. People are buying turntables again and music aficionados are extolling their virtues. More dynamic sound quality is a big reason and vinyl fans will swear that it’s significantly better than an MP3. Some vinyl fans just want to “own” a physical form of their favorite music and have the pleasure of inviting friends over to “really hear” the newest album of their favorite band/orchestra.

It’s one of those rare occasions when there’s an appreciation for what many considered dead and gone. Vinyl record sales actually overtook CD sales in 2020. Streaming services now dominate the music scene and are the listening option of choice for most people, but the vinyl diehards are not going away. Rock on!

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

 

Home Alone

Apparently, baby boomers have taken over e-commerce shopping. From groceries to clothing, rather than risking in-person hunting and gathering, boomers are going online to get just about everything. Peeps over 65 are the fastest-growing demo for e-commerce shopping.

And e-commerce sellers have taken notice. Retailers are jumping on the trend with 24-hour customer service and helpful videos for first-time e-commerce shoppers. The over 65 crowd on average spent $1,615 online between January and October of 2020. That’s a 49 percent increase over 2019. And that’s why they are the fastest growing bunch of online spenders.

Not just content to spend big bucks, the boomers plus group is also buying more often. Frequency of purchases climbed 40 percent over that same period in 2020.

Remember how often you read opinion pieces in the news about how the pandemic might change things forever? Online purchasing might be one of those habits that does not go back to the way things used to be. No longer shy about buying online, the 65 and up demo would rather stay out of the grocery and mall, and that could have real lasting impact on the brick and mortar sector. As in fewer stores and malls. Every day it seems you hear about another shopping mall being converted into apartments and condos. Expect that trend to continue as more of us beyond age 65 are content to get everything shipped or delivered.

According to AARP, consumers 50 and older spent $7.6 trillion in 2018. That was 56 percent of ALL spending in the U.S. You know the old saying about the 800 pound gorilla. Early adopters are no longer influencing the greatest change when it comes to how people are shopping.

We can look at this again a year from now, when pandemic fears and behavior modification are hopefully behind us. But it’s a good bet that many of baby boomers will continue to find online shopping less of a hassle than in-store shopping. Except when it comes to buying bananas. You’ve got to see the bananas in person if you want the best.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

What Cattle Do At Night (or Until the Cows Come Home)

 

Another in a continuing series of articles about what exactly animals and marine life are up to, that you always wanted to know.

We’ve all seen it. About an hour before sunset the cows come home. If we’re talking milk cows, they head for the barn because there’s food there and a place to get out of the wind. But what about cattle on open grazing land? Where are they heading? How do they spend their nights?

First of all, we’ve all heard the expression “herd mentality” and when it comes to cattle, there are always some dominant animals that decide where and when the herd moves. They are after all prey animals, so there’s safety in numbers. So after a hard day of grazing, cattle will seek out some lowland out of the wind and elements and find bedground for the night. You would be surprised at how much body heat an 1,800 pound cow can generate and they do have a whole lot of insulation, so I would not get too hung on whether or not they are cold. Ask a rancher in North Dakota how low the temperature has to get before a cow freezes.

There’s usually a lot of gossip about who saw what (Did you see that rusty old pick-up truck go by?), how much forage everyone had, and some of the goofy things the calves were up to that day. There is a lot of talk about the quality of the forage, so much like humans, cattle will drone on and on about where the best forage was, or complaining about the scarcity, or how long it took to chew cud.

Cattle are very social, so it’s not unusual for some of the better storytellers to break out a story that’s been handed down for generations for the listening pleasure of the rest of the herd. On some rare occasions, the herd will come across some Jimson weed and on those nights the cattle have a riproaring time getting high as kites (perhaps not the best comparison when you’re talking about an 1,800 pound animal) and having some really wicked hallucinations. If you’re wondering what kind of hallucination a cow might have, one of the most common ones is that a cow will think that the ear tag is some kind of radio controller that’s following every move the cow makes. Creepy yes, but not out of the realm of possibility.

So the next time you see cattle making their move around sunset, you’ll have a pretty good idea that the party is about to get started.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

Miss Information?

Or should that be misinformation? I never had any expectation that baby boomers were a monolithic demographic when it came to their political and social opinions, but sometimes it felt that way when the war was raging in Viet Nam and Selective Service (remember that?) was breathing down the necks of young boomers. We are all in this together, right? Well, maybe not.

Fast forward 52 years, and it’s become even more clear that if there ever was any uniformity to our outlook as children of the 60s, it’s gone now. The truth has gotten fuzzier and facts can be challenged by alternative facts, the latter phrase itself a puzzling and disturbing development.

All this time, even though we watched the same TV shows, listened to the same hit songs, and fixated on the popular movies of our era, it appears that are brains were interpreting these cultural touchstones in very divergent ways. Truthiness became a thing and thus it became okay, if not acceptable, to decode shared experiences as opposing ends of the political spectrum.

The alphabet soup of generations (Gen X, Gen Y/Millennials and Gen Z) have been for the most part shaped by a whole different set of cultural and political influences. Their outlook has been influenced by recessions, rapid technology innovation and rampant social media. Now they are tasked not only with translating the latest operating system updates for our computers, but also helping us separate truth from fiction. With baby boomers grandparents caught between Q Anon and the Onion, what’s a Gen X, Y or Z’er to do? They expected, even welcomed the chance to help boomer parents with technology, but how could they have predicted they would be required as well to debunk fake news. One generation believes if they see it in print it must be true and the other generation finds almost everything that makes its way to the internet to be suspect.

Since we can’t agree on which facts are really facts (i.e. truth), we can only hope that X, Y and Z will save us by confirming the real ABC’s.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

 

Deep in Da Nile

Whadda you mean I’m not 58? I feel like I’m 58.

Yeah, about that. You’re just another baby boomer who thinks that they will live forever. But have you noticed that you are forgetting things more often? That thing where you go into another room but can’t remember why –– is that happening more often? Do you need the TV volume up higher than –– ahem –– some other people in the room? Is figuring out how to do stuff on your computer getting more and more difficult (i.e. requiring the services of random teenagers in order to figure out how to back up your old iTunes –– I know, Apple killed it and they call it Music now. How creative.). Do your knees feel sore after a long walk or a hike? Do I need to continue listing these things or are you getting the message?

You –– we –– are in denial. And the older we get, the more denial we exhibit. I’m not particularly worried about it. It’s normal as we age. I’m more worried about where it stops. This is why children take away the parent’s car keys. I don’t have any children. Does that mean people I don’t even know are going to tell me I should not be driving anymore? I know this day is far off (or is that just more denial?), but it’s never too early to start worrying about it.

Baby boomers just don’t think of themselves as “older adults.” And honestly, why should they? The definition of older adult has been “updefined.” The President is 78. The Speaker of the House is 79. Bernie Sanders is 79 and he’s a famous meme for crying out loud!

Of course, we are not the first generation of oldsters to face this problem. The difference is that we are baby boomers, and I don’t have to tell you, boomers have this group-think tendency to believe we are different than past generations. Not necessarily better, but different. Our culture has contributed to this effect as well. We are living longer and healthier lives. There are more medical and psychological means of deferring events that used to define old age.

So. What to do? Keeping paddling in the Nile? That’s where you will find me. Until or unless someone takes away my paddle.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant at DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

 

Sominex

Maybe it’s the anxiety of waiting for a vaccination or just the general angst of waiting out a pandemic, but either way, I’m ready to try some Sominex (doubtful they still make it). If you’re old enough, you might remember their jingle. “Take Sominex tonight and sleep. Safe and restful, sleep, sleep, sleep.” That little ditty is still effective. You almost want to lay your head down and take a nap after listening to it.

The more serious issue is what baby boomers may be doing to themselves to get some quality sleep. There are warnings that alcohol consumption is way up and it stands to reason that various sleep aids such as ZzzQuil, Luna and Nytol are experiencing a big bump in sales. Likewise, CBD products are getting very popular for the supposed benefit of reduced anxiety.

I suppose you’ve heard that we should be getting 7 hours of sleep a night. Who was getting 7 hours even before the pandemic? Six is good, hell, I would take 5. The creepy aspect of this sleep deprivation is that we really don’t know how much sleep we’re getting. Looking at the clock over and over throughout the night does not prove that you were not sleeping in between time checks. How many times have you heard yourself say, “I didn’t sleep at all last night.” If it were really true, you would be in a zombie apocalypse movie by now.

Is this sleep deprivation issue really about the pandemic or is it a natural consequence of getting older? The National Sleep Foundation found that 35 percent of Americans report their sleep quality as poor or fair. Boomers spend less time in deeper stages of sleep and our circadian rhythms change, causing us to go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier. Their advice is to shoot for the same bedtime and wake-up. No TV or electronic devices (that’s going to be tough); no eating within 3 hours of bedtime; no caffeine after 3 p.m.; and don’t stay in bed if you are not sleeping.

All this talk about sleep is making me drowsy. Oh yeah, they also recommend naps be limited to 20-30 minutes. See you in my dreams.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant at DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

 

 

Memories

I want to discuss memory loss with you. For baby boomers, the fear of memory loss is really the fear of dementia. I’m not referring to the inability to recall names, places, or even what you ate for lunch. Wait, where was I? Seriously, isn’t every boomer thinking that dementia is right around the corner when they can’t remember something they were told an hour ago? You can argue with me if you like, but I’m going to affirm that half the time my problem is with listening skills, not memory, but that’s a whole other story.

The good news is that exercise not only improves memory – it also decreases memory loss. Studies have shown that walking for as little as 2.5 hours per week can significantly improve memory.

Exercise increases the levels of brain chemicals, and that in turn encourages the growth of nerve cells. The more aerobic the exercise, the more successfully your brain ages. Soooo, time to get moving.

While on the subject of memory, I wanted to know why we can remember things in the most distant past but not how we spent the afternoon yesterday. The science indicates that once a memory is created it has to be stored somewhere. Sensory, short-term or long-term. I’m going to guess that short-term can only hold so much, while long-term is there for the long haul.

And I just remembered why we can’t remember when we were babies. Most of us, that is. I’d be willing to bet there are a few boomers out there who can remember getting a spoonfuls of Gerber Apricot Mixed Fruit, but they would have to be considered extremely rare. The rest of us at that age had brains that were not developed enough to bundle information into the complex neural patterns known as memories.

Maybe you will remember this the next time you and your friends and family are discussing memory loss. Or maybe not.

Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.