Sandy, Age 71
I am a 71 years old woman and live in a log cabin on a gravel road in Western North Carolina. I designed and built the cabin 12 years ago and was my own contractor. I had to make every decision myself-down to the placement of the last little electrical outlet. It was a blast and I loved every moment of the experience.
The best thing about being 71 is waking up in the morning with a whole big wonderful day that I get to fill up with things I want to do. No job and no particular place to go. The down side, of course, is that it takes me about six times longer to do any and every thing. If you are not careful those hours can slip by in a big hurry.
About 8 or 9 years ago I got lonely. I decided to join an online dating service. I typed in the age bracket I thought would work- (64 to 70.) I typed in the locality- (500 mile radius.) One possibility came up. I extended the age to 90 and the distance to anywhere. Wow! Three possibilities. Not good odds. Yet my dear husband John is right now adding another log to the wood stove. We met just 12 days after I started on the dating site and married five months later. He is the dearest man and every day I am thankful for his companionship.
I am a war baby. I was born in 1943 while my Father served in the Navy in the Pacific arena. I find I have very little in common with baby boomers. I recently told my son and he could not understand how so few years could make a difference. To me, they do, and I sometimes feel I have been caught in the cracks between two different ways of thinking. Anyone else have that feeling?
You bring up another important difference between Baby Boomers and previous generations, Sandy…TV has been a part of the BB consciousness pretty much right from the start. I was born in 1949, and I remember watching TV at a very early age. TV has been one of the main sources of information for my generation. The newspaper seemed to be where previous generations got the news.
No one is silencing your voice here…I too, welcome conversation. What is it that you want to say that you have been silenced for saying?
I watched the video and I can see that he had so many of the dates and events listed that I have also noted. My problem, and it does remain a problem, is that Massey somehow believes that everything is moving towards the greater good. So any ideas or beliefs that were held before are suspect. Could that be right? Can’t the moderating voices from before still offer something of importance. I resent the idea that we had to have TV to show us the ugly reality of who we were. If we were shown (in the 50’s) a television show of the future where children had to go past metal detectors to enter school, wide spread use of drugs, young girls-children themselves-pregnant then I would have to think the choices we made would have been different. So much of the changes are certainly for the good but I want to be able to talk. I hate that my voice is silenced. I hate that I am silenced and yet everywhere you hear the need for a national conversation. Conversations have two sides. Anyway-they used to have two sides.
Here’s that link for the video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l6rPiehHQu8
Hi Sandy,
You comment about the conversation stopping reminds me of the old E. F. Hutton commercial…”When E. F. Hutton (or Sandy) talks, people listen.”
Why do you think that happens?
THE FOURTH TURNING is one of my all-time favorite and most referred to books ever. I hope you find it interesting.
Many years ago, probably about 30 or so, I saw a film by Morris Massey entitled, “What You Are Is Where You Were When.” What he said made a huge impact on me regarding “generations” and how we are influenced by what is happening in the world around us. (I’ll add a link below of a short video of Massey that you may enjoy.)
THE FOURTH TURNING helped to expand my understanding and interest in the topic of generations.
Good “talking” with you, Sandy!
Sue
Hi Sandy!
Your comment regarding having “very little in common with Baby Boomers” caught my eye. I have been very interested in the concept of “generations” for many years.
Have you heard of or read the book entitled THE FOURTH TURNING by William Strauss and Neil Howe? This is the website: http://www.fourthturning.com
According to Strauss and Howe, being born in 1943 puts you at the start of the Baby Boom, and 1960 is the end of that generation. Interestingly, when we hear news reports regarding Baby Boomers, the birth years for that generation begin with 1946 and end with 1964…supposedly, the youngest Baby Boomers turned 50 in 2014.
So there is obvious “disagreement” and confusion with the actual years when one generation started and the last one ended. It’s not surprising you feel you may belong more in the previous generation (the Silent generation)…you are on the “cusp”…or “caught in the cracks.”
You shared an interesting description of what sounds like a very satisfying life. You have experienced independent living…building a home on your own…and on-line dating. It seems like many women 70+ would find those subjects quite useful.
Thanks for sharing your life with us!
Sue, 65 years of life experience
Hi,
Thanks for the comment to my story. I am the oldest of three sisters. I was born during the war and my sisters after WWll. They were caught up in the Feminist revolution, hippie era, and anti war era. I was married and had babies by that time. My views on life are just not the same. I think of myself as an intelligent,open minded, honest and caring person and yet at some gatherings I cannot open my mouth to voice an opinion without having all conversation come to a full stop. I look forward to reading the book you suggested as I read several of the reviews and think it might make sense of these changes. Thank you, Sandy