Welcome!
We presume you are a Boomer.
Unless perhaps you were misled by the name of this blog. The Not Dead Yet. In which case I will tell you right now it is not a blog about zombies, vampires or, for the most part, the walking dead. Sorry for any confusion. This blog is for and about those of us born between the years 1946 and 1964. The Baby Boomers. In the United States fully 28% of the population was born before 1964. Most of those folks are Boomers and more of us are moving towards the ranks of the retired.
Why this blog was started.
Not long ago I was sitting in the urban jungle that is my neighbors, Professor O’s, front yard. We were drinking wine with our respective BB’s (big bosses-aka our wives) and as is our usual custom the BB’s eventually retired for the evening and the Professor and I continued on into the night, solving the worlds problems, debating local politics while dispatching yet another bottle of red wine. Eventually the the conversation turned to our upcoming retirement years.
We have both witnessed many retirees who finally reach the goal line and then pull the plug on living. It is as if the goal was to finish their working life and then just settle into a life of staying home, watching the telly with the occasional excursion to the barber or hair salon. I came across many such retirees in my years delivering Meals on Wheels. They have equated retirement to some kind of earned rest period. What they have done is hasten the eternal rest period.
Now the Professor is one of those Renaissance men, adept in many areas, woodworking, pottery, gardening and cooking and is by nature a very inquisitive person. A trained attorney, he chucked that career in exchange for the more terrifying prospect of staring down the unblinking scrutiny he faces each day while teaching first and second graders. He is a great teacher and is loved by his students. As much as he loves what he is doing he is looking forward to the day when his time is solely his own. His retirement will be filled with new projects and adventures well living by the credo “it is better to wear out than rust out”. We hope to make that the motto of all Boomers as we share our adventures, struggles and random rants.
The Professor and I both strongly believe that you must always be moving. Forward. There is no rest period. Take classes, get involved in the community, volunteer as a teachers aide, learn a new language, pick-up a musical instrument, but above all keep moving and keep learning.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines retired as “adjective 1: secluded, quiet 2: withdrawn from active duty or ones occupation”
We call BULLSHIT!
1-Go out and see and be seen. Get active in the community, church or local senior center.
2-It is your duty to remain active and engaged, to share your accumulated knowledge and expierence with the next generation(s) God knows they can use it.
So, taking our own advice to be always learning we have stepped into the blog-o-sphere. Do we know what we are doing? Nope. Is it a chance to learn? Oh yes. Will we have fun? At his stage in our lives we Boomers should not do anything that does not bring joy or amuse us.
Your challenge this week is to do one thing that brings you joy or you find amusing. If this is a struggle for you remember that you are never to old to embarass your children.
You are a Boomer. Go out and make some noise.
MVS