By now, everybody but the amish has seen Rebecca Black's "Friday" video or heard part of the song. When this thing broke big, I wondered if she wasn't actually destined for stardom.
Not because she's talented, though I do think she has some talent. But because, in the same way Paris Hilton got famous for making a sex-tape, the public soon forgets why you got famous, and just remembers that you are famous.
I doubt many people genuinely like her song much. However, it's not something that's bad per se. It's just sorta silly and not particularly well done. Even there, it's not her voice or the production values that stink, it's the innane lyrics, mostly. The first thing I thought once I caught my breath from all the laughing is that a lot of folks will download and listen to this song due to the hilarious irony, but ultimately, this will let it catch on. Pop music has never and will never be about the lyrics. Sometimes, the dumber, the better.
Some of this backlash, undoubtedly, is that her parents had the money to get this done for her. If this had been just her and an acoustic guitar, the song could still have gone viral, but the reality is that the production values on the song are excellent and the video, though not particularly well-concieved, was shot and edited pretty well.
It's the lyrics of the song and the lack of a coherent script for the video, juxtaposed with the relatively high production values that gives this whole thing a hilarious incongruity.
And while I'm putting aside my hater's hat, I heard on Slate Culture Gabfest that this thing was done for $2,000. All I'm gonna say there is, that's amazing. Song and video for $2,000? Really? The guys at Ark Studios have taken a bashing on this, but frankly, I don't think they deserve it. Based on this, I'd have no qualms about letting them record and video a song I did. The production values are really pretty good.
It's the creative side that they need a little help with, but frankly, the creative side is not that easy to do. Millions of people are trying their best at that stuff every day and very few break through the background noise. Also, the $2,000 included providing her with the song, which was already written.
(This may account for the low cost, too. If they wrote the song, they could have already put together all the studio tracks in advance. Still, a lot of work, but maybe they didn't mind because they were able to assemble it without a deadline, during otherwise downtime at their studio.)
I can easily see her becoming a public figure with a career as a celebrity. She's young enough that she can live this down with things she does later in life. Alanis Morissette started out with an album that had tracks on it that were worse than "Friday", and her next album was considered an edgy, genre-defining masterpiece.
Yeah, this is mostly an accident. I doubt she or Ark did this whole thing looking to write a song that was so campy that it gets universally bagged on. A relative in France even told me that this thing has gone international. Granted, she said that in France, it's being called the worst song of the year, but still.
She can sing. She's sorta cute. Most importantly, she's famous, now. We've seen entertainment careers built on less.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Not the Greatest Time
I have maybe another hour's work on my books and then I can submit my stuff to have the CPA do my taxes. Lord only knows if this is too late, though. I bet he hates me; this is pretty late to get my stuff to him.
Today I was in a seriously foul mood. I think a lot of it is that I didn't get much sleep last night.
No word on either acceptance from CWRU or a scholarship from Toledo. All I can do is wait on that. I think I should know on both of them within a couple of weeks, but who knows. It'll be nice to know once and for all.
I'm dead broke right now, but should be getting some money this week. Should be a good chunk. Enough to get current and a little ahead. We picked up a few jobs lately. So if we can pick up a job here and there, and we get some Spring rains, things will be okay.
Trying to stay positive. Lots of negative emotion and feelings about the biz these days. It's hard not to be superstitious, but it feels like the place is doomed right now.
If things don't turn around, I may not last until the Summer. We'll see. Bankruptcy is a real possibility. I may start calling creditors and letting them know that I'll be filing and trying to negotiate offers of settlement before any bankruptcy proceedings.
Of course, if we have a few strong months in a row, all bets are off. This is really wearing my nerves out.
We laid off one more guy last week. Now, we're down to 3 production workers and a marketer, plus me. That's it. If we cut anybody else, it pretty much ceases to be a business and is just me and some trucks.
The weather is really what's killing us. That's got to turn around eventually. Trouble is, it doesn't have to turn around before I go broke. A lot of dustbowl farmers held on thinking the next year would be better.
I don't have a scale, but the workouts and new diet are working really well. I think lower carbs and including lean protien and some fat is the way I need to go. I was really getting out of shape there. My pants were uncomfortable.
I still have a belly, but it's disappearing. I feel more solid all the way around. I'm trying to run 2 times a week and fill in the rest with rowing machine workouts. At my age, I don't want to run more than I need to.
I have to admit: the Navy is a godsend, here. If nothing else, it means that twice a year, I absolutely must get into some semblance of physical condition and try to get into shape so that somebody else can weigh me. If I didn't have it, I can only imagine what sort of horrible shape I'd be in.
I was in a really bad mood all day today. If I declare bankruptcy, I almost certainly need to try and get a deployment so I can at least get a year of decent income. Also, the SSCRA would limit the amount that people could charge for interest on my debts, etc.
It also puts law school in jeopardy. It would mean a year away from my son.
I took him to his baseball practice and he's just killing the ball right now. He's impressing everybody.
The coach, for some reason, had me throw in one of the batting cages. Usually, I don't do that because I'm not a very good pitcher. Still, I did it and it was a workout. (Was throwing maybe 30 pitches to 10 kids.)
It was great because it snapped me out of my funk. I actually feel much better, now.
So, my future? Totally uncertain. God only knows where it'll lead. I sincerely can't say with certainty what I'll be doing six months from now. I hope I can hold it together long enough for Logan to finish his travel baseball season, though.
This is sort of hard times, but honestly, so many people have it worse right now that I have trouble feeling sorry for myself. One way or another, I'll get through this, maybe better than before.
Today I was in a seriously foul mood. I think a lot of it is that I didn't get much sleep last night.
No word on either acceptance from CWRU or a scholarship from Toledo. All I can do is wait on that. I think I should know on both of them within a couple of weeks, but who knows. It'll be nice to know once and for all.
I'm dead broke right now, but should be getting some money this week. Should be a good chunk. Enough to get current and a little ahead. We picked up a few jobs lately. So if we can pick up a job here and there, and we get some Spring rains, things will be okay.
Trying to stay positive. Lots of negative emotion and feelings about the biz these days. It's hard not to be superstitious, but it feels like the place is doomed right now.
If things don't turn around, I may not last until the Summer. We'll see. Bankruptcy is a real possibility. I may start calling creditors and letting them know that I'll be filing and trying to negotiate offers of settlement before any bankruptcy proceedings.
Of course, if we have a few strong months in a row, all bets are off. This is really wearing my nerves out.
We laid off one more guy last week. Now, we're down to 3 production workers and a marketer, plus me. That's it. If we cut anybody else, it pretty much ceases to be a business and is just me and some trucks.
The weather is really what's killing us. That's got to turn around eventually. Trouble is, it doesn't have to turn around before I go broke. A lot of dustbowl farmers held on thinking the next year would be better.
I don't have a scale, but the workouts and new diet are working really well. I think lower carbs and including lean protien and some fat is the way I need to go. I was really getting out of shape there. My pants were uncomfortable.
I still have a belly, but it's disappearing. I feel more solid all the way around. I'm trying to run 2 times a week and fill in the rest with rowing machine workouts. At my age, I don't want to run more than I need to.
I have to admit: the Navy is a godsend, here. If nothing else, it means that twice a year, I absolutely must get into some semblance of physical condition and try to get into shape so that somebody else can weigh me. If I didn't have it, I can only imagine what sort of horrible shape I'd be in.
I was in a really bad mood all day today. If I declare bankruptcy, I almost certainly need to try and get a deployment so I can at least get a year of decent income. Also, the SSCRA would limit the amount that people could charge for interest on my debts, etc.
It also puts law school in jeopardy. It would mean a year away from my son.
I took him to his baseball practice and he's just killing the ball right now. He's impressing everybody.
The coach, for some reason, had me throw in one of the batting cages. Usually, I don't do that because I'm not a very good pitcher. Still, I did it and it was a workout. (Was throwing maybe 30 pitches to 10 kids.)
It was great because it snapped me out of my funk. I actually feel much better, now.
So, my future? Totally uncertain. God only knows where it'll lead. I sincerely can't say with certainty what I'll be doing six months from now. I hope I can hold it together long enough for Logan to finish his travel baseball season, though.
This is sort of hard times, but honestly, so many people have it worse right now that I have trouble feeling sorry for myself. One way or another, I'll get through this, maybe better than before.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Things should start looking up...
We picked up a couple water jobs in the past couple of days. The preferred vendor agreements my franchisor has been out getting really have made a difference. They're gaining momentum and are representing a bigger and bigger chunk of our business. At that point, this truly is a franchise.
I do worry that a lot of somewhat shady activity is hurting us. We're not doing anything shady, though. That's what's hurting us. I know that some adjusters take bribes. Others have cozy relationships with vendors that may or may not be for up-and-up reasons.
We've avoided that sort of thing. Instead, I've preferred to simply let the quality of our work speak for itself. Most days, I think I'm being exceedingly naive, though. I just don't want to open that can of worms of starting to do things that are a little shady. Once you go down that road, you're lost, in my opinion.
These preferred vendor agreements are perfect, though. They take any corrupt adjusters right out of the mix. Granted, they also take good adjusters out of the mix, too, but for the most part, these preferred agreements tend to go our way, not to our competitors.
It sure would be nice if this thing started making money again. I'm really starting to lose hope. Two years is a long time to bail water. Sooner or later you have to accept that the smart thing is to abandon ship.
I do worry that a lot of somewhat shady activity is hurting us. We're not doing anything shady, though. That's what's hurting us. I know that some adjusters take bribes. Others have cozy relationships with vendors that may or may not be for up-and-up reasons.
We've avoided that sort of thing. Instead, I've preferred to simply let the quality of our work speak for itself. Most days, I think I'm being exceedingly naive, though. I just don't want to open that can of worms of starting to do things that are a little shady. Once you go down that road, you're lost, in my opinion.
These preferred vendor agreements are perfect, though. They take any corrupt adjusters right out of the mix. Granted, they also take good adjusters out of the mix, too, but for the most part, these preferred agreements tend to go our way, not to our competitors.
It sure would be nice if this thing started making money again. I'm really starting to lose hope. Two years is a long time to bail water. Sooner or later you have to accept that the smart thing is to abandon ship.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Really hitting the wall...
Well... business isn't any better than usual. Everybody is paying slowly. Business is slow to begin with. Today is a gorgeous, sunny day. Every sunny day, to me, feels like somebody stabbing me in the chest. We've had idyllic weather for 2 straight years, now. Not one single hard thunderstorm. Not one single hard freeze. It's bizarre, and it's killing me and my business.
I actually looked into what it would take to file for bankruptcy today. I was hoping to be able to sell my business, but honestly, I have no idea if there are any buyers and the business has done poorly for so long, now, I doubt it'd be attractive to anybody.
If there were any easy way out at this point, I'd take it, but almost all the paths out are messy. If I could get out of the business, I could see about begging for a deployment. It'd be a year away from my son, which is downright depressing. However, my options are pretty limited.
It's also hard to get a deployment. Lots of guys in my boat are reserve officers and really can benefit if they can get overseas for a year.
We had to let go of one more employee this week. He'll use up his remaining vacation and that will be it. At this point, we've cut out all the fat, gone through some muscle and sinew and are cutting into bone.
I honestly feel like one less employee and this ceases to be a business. It's just me and a few helpers.
I wish there were a positive way to frame all this, but it's just horrible. April, it should rain, but lately, although I shouldn't, I can't escape the feeling that this business is just cursed and doomed.
It's hard not to get superstitious. It's hard to keep believing that things will improve if you've gone years without seeing the improvement.
At least the government did everything in its power to save the Wall Street bankers. The rest of us are too small to matter.
I actually looked into what it would take to file for bankruptcy today. I was hoping to be able to sell my business, but honestly, I have no idea if there are any buyers and the business has done poorly for so long, now, I doubt it'd be attractive to anybody.
If there were any easy way out at this point, I'd take it, but almost all the paths out are messy. If I could get out of the business, I could see about begging for a deployment. It'd be a year away from my son, which is downright depressing. However, my options are pretty limited.
It's also hard to get a deployment. Lots of guys in my boat are reserve officers and really can benefit if they can get overseas for a year.
We had to let go of one more employee this week. He'll use up his remaining vacation and that will be it. At this point, we've cut out all the fat, gone through some muscle and sinew and are cutting into bone.
I honestly feel like one less employee and this ceases to be a business. It's just me and a few helpers.
I wish there were a positive way to frame all this, but it's just horrible. April, it should rain, but lately, although I shouldn't, I can't escape the feeling that this business is just cursed and doomed.
It's hard not to get superstitious. It's hard to keep believing that things will improve if you've gone years without seeing the improvement.
At least the government did everything in its power to save the Wall Street bankers. The rest of us are too small to matter.
Carbs, Facebook and Movies
I went on a carbohydrate bonanza last night and I have to be honest, I don't feel that great today. Inspired by the movie "fat head", I've been on a reduced carb diet, and honestly, I've been very happy with it.
Now, I'm NOT on Atkins or a no-carb diet or anything of the sort. I think those are actually kinda dangerous. I'm just reducing my carbs from 300-500 grams a day to maybe 100-150. Enough carbs to keep the diet balanced. However, much less than I am used to eating.
Given my druthers, I'd druther eat a diet that had very little meat in it and a ton of carbs. However, I think both of those things work at cross-purposes to losing weight. I don't have a scale, and I've also amped up my workouts, but so far, I'm getting good results with the new diet.
Based on how I feel right now, I won't be rushing back into a high carb diet any time soon.
I saw "The Social Network" last night, and I had been avoiding watching it for some time, now. Frankly, the movie was excellent, but the reason I avoided watching it was true to the mark.
I didn't want to watch it because it would make me feel inadequate as far as what I have achieved in life. I will probably go to my deathbed kicking myself for not being bolder and wiser in my life. Timid and stupid is a bad combination.
The reason I say this is that in 1987, I was a computer science major. By the time 1988 came around, I was a computer science major with a 3.97 gpa.
I should have been on the forefront of the internet revolution. I should have moved to Palo Alto and really gone wild.
Instead, I was preoccupied with making money. So, I worked way too much in college. One thing led to another, and the end result was 6 years in college to get a degree in Information Systems.
Even so, that was 1993, and I could have moved out to Palo Alto. Instead, I took the only local job I could find and worked for a manufacturing company while I got my MBA at night.
Then, it was 1997. Third opportunity. I could have moved out to Palo Alto. Instead, I stuck around, took a promotion, was finally making good (but not great) money.
Hearing or watching stories about internet gozillionaires is, to me, like being reminded about how close I was to making something extraordinary of my life. I had the right general idea, but lacked the guts and vision to move to silicon valley to make something happen.
Now, I'm not saying I had the vision to be Jeff Bezos or Jeff Zuckerberg. If there's one thing I lack, it's vision. However, I had the ability to be a programmer in a startup.
Ah well. You can make yourself crazy at my age by thinking of all the ways you could have done things differently. That's probably the stuff that mid-life crises are made of.
Now, I'm NOT on Atkins or a no-carb diet or anything of the sort. I think those are actually kinda dangerous. I'm just reducing my carbs from 300-500 grams a day to maybe 100-150. Enough carbs to keep the diet balanced. However, much less than I am used to eating.
Given my druthers, I'd druther eat a diet that had very little meat in it and a ton of carbs. However, I think both of those things work at cross-purposes to losing weight. I don't have a scale, and I've also amped up my workouts, but so far, I'm getting good results with the new diet.
Based on how I feel right now, I won't be rushing back into a high carb diet any time soon.
I saw "The Social Network" last night, and I had been avoiding watching it for some time, now. Frankly, the movie was excellent, but the reason I avoided watching it was true to the mark.
I didn't want to watch it because it would make me feel inadequate as far as what I have achieved in life. I will probably go to my deathbed kicking myself for not being bolder and wiser in my life. Timid and stupid is a bad combination.
The reason I say this is that in 1987, I was a computer science major. By the time 1988 came around, I was a computer science major with a 3.97 gpa.
I should have been on the forefront of the internet revolution. I should have moved to Palo Alto and really gone wild.
Instead, I was preoccupied with making money. So, I worked way too much in college. One thing led to another, and the end result was 6 years in college to get a degree in Information Systems.
Even so, that was 1993, and I could have moved out to Palo Alto. Instead, I took the only local job I could find and worked for a manufacturing company while I got my MBA at night.
Then, it was 1997. Third opportunity. I could have moved out to Palo Alto. Instead, I stuck around, took a promotion, was finally making good (but not great) money.
Hearing or watching stories about internet gozillionaires is, to me, like being reminded about how close I was to making something extraordinary of my life. I had the right general idea, but lacked the guts and vision to move to silicon valley to make something happen.
Now, I'm not saying I had the vision to be Jeff Bezos or Jeff Zuckerberg. If there's one thing I lack, it's vision. However, I had the ability to be a programmer in a startup.
Ah well. You can make yourself crazy at my age by thinking of all the ways you could have done things differently. That's probably the stuff that mid-life crises are made of.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Oh, great, as if I needed another reason to get the heeby jeebies...
US News literally JUST came out with their grad-school rankings. University of Toledo? Just a few years ago, they were in the top 100. Now? They're in the 4th (worst) tier. These are the schools so bad, they don't want to humiliate them by giving them numerical rankings. (This year, they actually gave rankings to the 3rd tier.)
I couldn't begin to tell you why UT has fallen so badly in the past few years.
It's amazing how much difference good leadership can make. When I attended CWRU for b-school, it had a reputation as one of the best b-schools in the country. It had been considered one of the best, since the merger of Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University. The dean left, the b-school started plummetting. It's now sitting at around #80, which is solid, but basically a total yawner as far as claiming academic excellence.
There are two schools that are within realistic driving distance for me. There's University of Michigan and University of Toledo. So, as far as low schools go, the choice is between one of the best law schools in the country and one of the worst.
I really wish I could chose a nice median choice like Case. They're sitting at 61 for law, and their office of career services reflects their standing. They have a lot more firms coming to campus than Toledo.
Now, I'm not one who lives and dies by the US News Rankings. They're an imperfect instrument. I highly doubt that the #60 school is that different than the #40 school or the #80 school. I mean, yeah, subtly different, but not enough that I think a person should automatically go to #40 instead of #60.
But for crying out loud, I don't think anybody would deny that schools in, say, the top 20 are clearly better than schools in the 80 to 100 range. And schools ranked #150-ish can hardly claim with a straight face that they are comparable to schools in the top 50.
I don't think the rankings give you the merit of a school in exact precision, but they do give you the ballpark.
Toledo's ballpark just got a whole lot crappier.
I'm still going to the new student meet and greet on Saturday. This is a pretty disheartening development, though. Whether it ultimately affects my decision or not, I really don't know.
I couldn't begin to tell you why UT has fallen so badly in the past few years.
It's amazing how much difference good leadership can make. When I attended CWRU for b-school, it had a reputation as one of the best b-schools in the country. It had been considered one of the best, since the merger of Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University. The dean left, the b-school started plummetting. It's now sitting at around #80, which is solid, but basically a total yawner as far as claiming academic excellence.
There are two schools that are within realistic driving distance for me. There's University of Michigan and University of Toledo. So, as far as low schools go, the choice is between one of the best law schools in the country and one of the worst.
I really wish I could chose a nice median choice like Case. They're sitting at 61 for law, and their office of career services reflects their standing. They have a lot more firms coming to campus than Toledo.
Now, I'm not one who lives and dies by the US News Rankings. They're an imperfect instrument. I highly doubt that the #60 school is that different than the #40 school or the #80 school. I mean, yeah, subtly different, but not enough that I think a person should automatically go to #40 instead of #60.
But for crying out loud, I don't think anybody would deny that schools in, say, the top 20 are clearly better than schools in the 80 to 100 range. And schools ranked #150-ish can hardly claim with a straight face that they are comparable to schools in the top 50.
I don't think the rankings give you the merit of a school in exact precision, but they do give you the ballpark.
Toledo's ballpark just got a whole lot crappier.
I'm still going to the new student meet and greet on Saturday. This is a pretty disheartening development, though. Whether it ultimately affects my decision or not, I really don't know.
My Great Depression Event
I just remarked to my sister in law that this recession is going to be my "Great Depression event". That's really true.
There are some families that are getting through this whole thing relatively unscathed. They are managing to hang on to their jobs, and their companies are doing well. If I had to guess, I'd say most people are in that boat. Even so, if you used to be a two wage earner family and one of you loses a job, you may be able to survive, but the changes are going to be dramatic.
Worse yet are the folks whose sole source of income got wiped out. Those folks are in trouble.
I'm not far ahead of them. Small business is perilous during the best of times, but during the worst of times, we're right on the front lines. We take more than our share of casualties. I'm no exception.
It occurs to me that even though most of my grandparents' generation were depression babies, that their generation probably fared best out of the depression.
They earned everything they got, but by the time they hit middle age, they had survived the depths of the depression and won a world war. They were tough, resilient, self-reliant. Not that anybody would chose to go through the depression, but it contributed to what they became.
In John F. Kennedy's innaugural address, he told the world that, "the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans. Born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage."
Okay, JFK didn't suffer much during the depression, at least not because of the economy. However, he was right to describe his generation in such glowing terms.
Most of the accomplishments that the baby boomers like to give themselves credit for were due primarily to their parents' generation, not theirs. Rosa Parks wasn't a baby boomer. The civil rights attorneys fighting all over the country were not predominantly a bunch of 20-somethings. Ralph Nader was born in 1934, not 1948.
The boomers, of course, would like us to believe that they saved the world when, in reality, all they really did was to re-discover recreational drugs, shoddy clothing and bad hygiene.
It was the greatest generation that changed the world. The greatest generation put men on the moon. The greatest generation gave us the civil rights act of 1964. Only a generation forged in a fire of adversity could achieve such great things.
The boomers, with their conspicuous lack of adversity could never have made these major strides.
I think this economic climate is our generation's great depression. Sure, there are few soup kitchens or bread lines, and this isn't nearly as bad as the depression, but it's a horrific experience just the same.
The reason I think about this isn't so much for the impact on the greatest generation. My son's generation will be the next incarnation of the greatest generation. They will, in all likelihood, buckle down and work hard. They'll value self-reliance. They will re-examine the materialism and selfishness that the boomers held as core values.
The reason I think about this is that the depression destroyed a lot of people. Financially, emotionally, and in many other ways. Those who are worst hit by our current recession are those who were at the end of their working lives. When a 58 year old loses his or her job, it's highly likely that they'll never have well-paid work again, ever. If they consume their retirement savings to stay afloat until they can file for social security, it's gone, forever, never to return.
They simply don't have time or opportunity to rebuild, and in the last decade or two of your life, it's not realistic to think you would.
So, it could be much worse for me. If I were 10 years older, I'd probably be a lot more panic-stricken and more dejected by events.
Still, it's not coming at a great time in my life, either. Small business is essentially an all or nothing gamble and right now, the needle is pointing ever more slightly at "nothing" than at "all."
On the bright side, advances in medical science have allowed us to live longer. I may have to work into my 70s, but the bright side is that I probably will be able to.
I also live in a time of tremendous opportunity. I'm going back to school to embark on a 3rd career. What an amazing era of opportunity. Don't like what you're doing? Then do something else. Simple as that. In all of human history, how many people have had the luxury of living in a time like this.
Every day, though, I live with the fear that this thing will wipe me out. That I'll end up having to start again from zero at my age.
So, I just fight from day to day, to try and stay afloat. I know I'm not alone in this, but it doesn't really make things any easier.
There are some families that are getting through this whole thing relatively unscathed. They are managing to hang on to their jobs, and their companies are doing well. If I had to guess, I'd say most people are in that boat. Even so, if you used to be a two wage earner family and one of you loses a job, you may be able to survive, but the changes are going to be dramatic.
Worse yet are the folks whose sole source of income got wiped out. Those folks are in trouble.
I'm not far ahead of them. Small business is perilous during the best of times, but during the worst of times, we're right on the front lines. We take more than our share of casualties. I'm no exception.
It occurs to me that even though most of my grandparents' generation were depression babies, that their generation probably fared best out of the depression.
They earned everything they got, but by the time they hit middle age, they had survived the depths of the depression and won a world war. They were tough, resilient, self-reliant. Not that anybody would chose to go through the depression, but it contributed to what they became.
In John F. Kennedy's innaugural address, he told the world that, "the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans. Born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage."
Okay, JFK didn't suffer much during the depression, at least not because of the economy. However, he was right to describe his generation in such glowing terms.
Most of the accomplishments that the baby boomers like to give themselves credit for were due primarily to their parents' generation, not theirs. Rosa Parks wasn't a baby boomer. The civil rights attorneys fighting all over the country were not predominantly a bunch of 20-somethings. Ralph Nader was born in 1934, not 1948.
The boomers, of course, would like us to believe that they saved the world when, in reality, all they really did was to re-discover recreational drugs, shoddy clothing and bad hygiene.
It was the greatest generation that changed the world. The greatest generation put men on the moon. The greatest generation gave us the civil rights act of 1964. Only a generation forged in a fire of adversity could achieve such great things.
The boomers, with their conspicuous lack of adversity could never have made these major strides.
I think this economic climate is our generation's great depression. Sure, there are few soup kitchens or bread lines, and this isn't nearly as bad as the depression, but it's a horrific experience just the same.
The reason I think about this isn't so much for the impact on the greatest generation. My son's generation will be the next incarnation of the greatest generation. They will, in all likelihood, buckle down and work hard. They'll value self-reliance. They will re-examine the materialism and selfishness that the boomers held as core values.
The reason I think about this is that the depression destroyed a lot of people. Financially, emotionally, and in many other ways. Those who are worst hit by our current recession are those who were at the end of their working lives. When a 58 year old loses his or her job, it's highly likely that they'll never have well-paid work again, ever. If they consume their retirement savings to stay afloat until they can file for social security, it's gone, forever, never to return.
They simply don't have time or opportunity to rebuild, and in the last decade or two of your life, it's not realistic to think you would.
So, it could be much worse for me. If I were 10 years older, I'd probably be a lot more panic-stricken and more dejected by events.
Still, it's not coming at a great time in my life, either. Small business is essentially an all or nothing gamble and right now, the needle is pointing ever more slightly at "nothing" than at "all."
On the bright side, advances in medical science have allowed us to live longer. I may have to work into my 70s, but the bright side is that I probably will be able to.
I also live in a time of tremendous opportunity. I'm going back to school to embark on a 3rd career. What an amazing era of opportunity. Don't like what you're doing? Then do something else. Simple as that. In all of human history, how many people have had the luxury of living in a time like this.
Every day, though, I live with the fear that this thing will wipe me out. That I'll end up having to start again from zero at my age.
So, I just fight from day to day, to try and stay afloat. I know I'm not alone in this, but it doesn't really make things any easier.
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