OKAY, BOOMER
I recently encountered an MSN article titled, “40 Things That Baby Boomers Think Are Still Cool – But Aren’t.” It was an amusing little nothing of an article, good only for hanging advertising links onto – as fluffy as RuPaul’s feather boa.
It was apparently composed by some Millennial Snowflake – probably to the sound of great applause. I thought that only achy, arthritis-afflicted, grumpy old curmudgeons like me would compose such a compilation of complaints. I figured that the author of this would be too busy, polishing his brand-new, red BMW. Maybe MSN threw in a gold star for his sticker album, and a participation medal.
Snowflake: Slang A person who is considered to be overly sensitive or too easily offended, especially as a result of believing himself or herself to be unique or special – with the accent on flake.
I don’t know if the author was serious, or if this was just an exercise in being a published author. There were some things that he ranted about that even I, as an old Boomer, would object to, while others made me think that, even if it were raining gold coins, he’d complain about dents on that BMW.
The list was eclectic and varied. Among others, he hit on visors, shag carpet, Yahoo, Jell-O salads, fossil fuels, fuzzy toilet seat covers, bar soap, meat loaf, encyclopedias, and malls.
I don’t know what his objection to visors was. I don’t like wearing hats, but when I was younger, and my hair was black and absorbed solar energy and heat, I wore them to keep my brain from boiling. (So, that’s what happened!) Now that it’s as white as the driven snow, all I need is something to protect my eyes. That’s why God invented Ray-Bans.
I always thought that shag carpeting was a bad idea, and didn’t sign up for Yahoo. Instead I waited till Google was available for free. I rather like Jell-O salads – both vegetable, and fruit. I never miss a chance to scoop some up, the few times we hit a restaurant with a buffet. It was a cheap food that the wife’s family of nine kids had to endure, so she won’t make any. I’ll eat it, but I won’t make it. Like tossed salad, I feel that the enjoyment-to-labor ratio is too low.
I think that ‘fossil fuels’ was just tossed in for virtue signaling. I don’t know any Boomer who thinks that they’re “cool”, but, until some smart-ass Snowflake comes up with an affordable, reliable alternative…. they’re indispensable.
Fuzzy toilet-seat covers, aside from being a germ-sponge, are a vicious trick, invented by Women’s Lib. They turn a two-handed job into a three-handed one. When a guy tries to do what he needs to do, he has to open the front of his pants with one hand, and withdraw (hopefully) a handful with the other.
Fuzzy seat covers placed the center of balance of the lid forward, so that they would not stay up on their own. There was a lot of shuffling around to the side, and holding the lid up with a knee. The ones where the lid stayed up for a few seconds, and then came crashing down in mid-stream were the most dangerous. I almost didn’t have to pay for a vasectomy.
Ah, Millennial instant gratification! Since I’m not obsessed with Zumba, or Hatha Yoga, I have time to work up a lather with a bar of soap. I purchased a box of 12, Chinese, musk-scented bars at the Farmers’ Market. Most of them are secreted in various dresser drawers, helping to make my clothes smell like Not-Me.
I don’t know what the author had against meat-loaf – except that it wasn’t a kale smoothie. It’s comfort food, and us old fogies need all the comfort that we can get. The article served to remind me that we had not had meat-loaf in over a month, so I had it on the menu by the end of the week.
The article came on 40 pages that had to be clicked to. Each one came with a photograph, ‘cuz our old Boomer eyesight ain’t the best anymore, don’tcha know? Aside from the general, dismissive, know-it-all premise, the two things that irritated me the most were the photos of ‘encyclopedias,’ and ‘malls’
I welcomed the electronic advent of Wikipedia. Google and Bing are my friends. Paper and ink encyclopedias are archaic anachronisms – antiques, and collectors’ items. The Internet knows everything – if you can sift out the fake news. The photo provided for that page seemed to be of a library Rare-Book shelf. They’re old, and they are hard-cover…. but not one of them is an Encyclopedia. Bing images provided me with pictures of lots, as I composed this post, including the first, and possibly the best – Encyclopedia Britannica.
Malls have had their day. All hail Amazon and E-Bay! Etail is the wave of the future. The only thing that malls are good for are the food courts, and the girl-watching – and the air conditioning means that they are wearing far too much clothing. Someone didn’t work (or think) too hard with these photos.
Since the article is in English and apparently intended for the American – or perhaps Canadian – market, it would seem to be a good idea to get a picture of an English-speaking mall. Even a cursory examination of the above photo shows that it is of a Polish one. Recepcja = reception.
I think I pulled a groin muscle, ranting about some young whipper-snapper ranting about old nothings. I’m gonna rest up for a couple of days. See you later. 😀
Archon's Den 