My Generation Has Arrived...

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Our parents were born during the Great Depression, or the early years of the US involvement in WWII. They were the counterparts of Fonzie, Richie and Lori Beth, Joanie and Chachie of Happy Days. Gas rationing cards, bread lines and "brother can you spare a dime" gave way to Hot Rods, Sock Hops and "Rock Around the Clock"... then on to marriage and us. We were children of the 60s. Caught somewhere between the Babyboomers and Generation X. We have memories of the 60s, but mostly just images, but not really part of anything of the time. If we are into the music of the 60s it's probably because of an older brother or sister, but our time in music was yet to come. We were the last of the "be back when the street lights come on" kids. Our fathers went to work, our mothers stayed home, and we were free to roam, play and explore without fear of boogey men waiting in the shadows. Dinner time, vacations and weekend activities were family time, but summer weekdays were our own. Our teachers were hippies in their late 20s, pushing that dreaded "don't trust anyone over" age, so we were among the first to be "educated" in conservation, recycling and "save the planet", even if the subject had nothign to do with either. We were the last generation that didn't have a computer for every student in middle class or higher schools. The few of us who cared remember our school's first computers, but most the student body considered computers "geeky", if they even knew what one was at all. We were in high school when Pong, Space Invaders and Asteroids came out. We had graduated already by the time Donkey Kong introduced the Marios Brothers to the world. We were the first generation in a long time that graduated high school without a draft looming in our future. We registered for the draft, but if we ended up in the military, it was because we decided to (that or a judge offered it as an alternative to jail). In the military, our NCOs and Officers were just as likely to have been war protestors as Vietnam war vets. A lot of their stories from the past revolved around what they called, "The 70s Army". Apparently the drug, alcohol, physical fitness and bar fighting regulations were a lot more lax back then, because "Reagan's Army" wouldn't put up with such things... which was praised or bemoaned by our leaders, depending on how they looked back on those years. We were the generation of the "Yuppies". Young Urban Professionals who were able to hit college right after high school and graduate before their 21st birthday. With their degrees secured, they became the youngest Jr. Executives in history and took Corporate America by a storm. Now, no matter how this presidential election goes, one of our high school classmates is going to win. Barack Obama and Sarah Palin are my generation's introduction to the world. When John F. Kennedy was elected, the baton was passed from the WWI generation to the WWII veterans. The election of Bill Clinton marked the passage of leadership from the WWII vets to The Baby Boomers. John McCain is the Happy Days generations last hope for any representation in the White House. There is a lot of talk about "change" in this campaign season, which I guess is fitting because change is going to happen either way. We weren't raised the same as past generations, nor did we raise our families the same. With that being true, how can anyone expect us to run a country the way it was run before. For the good or the bad of it, my generation has arrived.