Young Love Remembered

The first time Jack saw her he was smitten. From the beginning, he thought Jill was the most beautiful creature in the world. And when he discovered her personality, he knew she was the girl for him.

Jack was only 15 and Jill 14 when they met. Each of them was the first love for the other. Their love was a very innocent one in which they spent time together going to the beach, to the park, to the mall, and to the movies. They discovered that they had so many common interests, and so much of their time together was spent in idle chatter, laughter, and bantering.

One day, when they were strolling through a local mall, Jack said to Jill, “Right now, if you were a little older, I think I would ask you to marry me.” Jill recorded this in her diary and then wrote, “I think I love him.” They lived several miles apart, but every day after school Jack rode his bike to Jill’s house to be with her. They spent three happy years dating in this fashion.

Being one year older than Jill, Jack graduated high school before she did. The night he graduated, he wrote in her yearbook, “I hope you remember me in 20 years.”

At age 18, Jack had to move with his parents to a city several hundred miles away. They had other plans for him, including attending medical school and becoming a doctor. Although they missed each other terribly, Jack and Jill decided after some time that a long-distance relationship between them was not something either of them wanted. So each of them went on with their separate lives - getting an education, a career, and ultimately, new relationships.

Jack was married for 15 years in a relationship that produced four children, and Jill was in a marriage that lasted two years and resulted in one child. Both marriages, however, ended in divorce.

Last Christmas, Jack had driven down to this area to visit some friends and, wondering what had happened to Jill over the years, decided to stop at her parent’s house to find out. When Jill’s mother appeared at the door, Jack greeted her and then asked how Jill was doing. The mother said, “Why don’t you ask her? She is here visiting us right now.”

After sitting and talking for some time, the two of them decided to get reacquainted. Jack told Jill that he had never forgotten her and the young love that they had shared. They resumed their relationship and after several months, and 22 years of being apart, with five children between them, they were married in June of this year.

After the ceremony Jill said, “Jack and I feel very blessed in so many ways. I never dreamed that I would be back with my first love. Being with him is like finding an old pair of jeans in the back of your closet that you put on again and they fit in just the right places.”

This story was inspired by an article that I found in a local newspaper. The names have been changed, and some embellishments have been made to the story; but all of the essential facts have been retained.

Prison vs. Office Work: Which Is Worse?

Which is worse - spending 35 years in prison or 35 years working in an office?

In the Prison: the majority of your time is spent in an 8x10 ft. cell.
In the Office: the majority of your time is spent in a 6x8 ft. cubicle.

In the Prison: You get three meals a day.
In the Office: You get only one break for a meal and you pay for it.

In the Prison: You get time off for good behavior.
In the Office: You get more work for good behavior.

In the Prison: The prison guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you.
In the Office: You must carry around a security card and open all the doors for yourself.

In the Prison: You can watch TV and play games.
In the Office: You can get fired for watching TV and playing games.

In the Prison: You get your own toilet.
In the Office: You have to share the toilet with some idiot who pees on the seat.

In the Prison: You are allowed visitation time with your family and friends.
In the Office: You can’t even speak to your family.

In the Prison: All of your expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required.
In the Office: You have to pay all the commuting expenses to go to and from work and then they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for the prisoners.

In the Prison: You spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out.
In the Office: You spend most of your time wanting to get out so you can go inside the bars.

In the Prison: You must deal with a sadistic warden.
In the Office: He or she is called a manager.

Retiring from the Prison after 35 Years: People released from state prison will soon get more than a few bucks and a bus ticket when they get out from behind bars under a new federal grant program that aims to help ex-cons adjust to community life. Forty-nine states will share $100 million in federal aid designed to finance programs that will give ex-cons education, job and life skills training and substance abuse treatment besides careful monitoring.

Retiring from the Office after 35 Years: You might get a speech and a gold watch.

Did You Know? (Failure)

Did you know that George (“Slam Dunk”) Tenet, the man who failed (along with the FBI) to prevent the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, and then wrongly estimated that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, later made $4 million explaining in a book the reasons why he failed?

Which proves once again that, under the Bush administration, nothing succeeds like failure.

Yes, George Tenet is but one of many who have profited from this war.

Those who actually have been fighting the war, however, have not been so fortunate. So many of those who did not lose their lives in Iraq are returning with broken bodies, shattered psyches, and damaged souls. They have paid the price so that others may prosper.

Troubled Youth Causing Trouble

“The world is passing through troublous times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress.”

Who do you think said that?

1. Oprah
2. Dr. Phil
3. Pat Robertson
4. Dr. Laura
5. Peter the Hermit
6. Abby (Dear Abby)

The answer will be the second comment in the comments section for this post.

Bada Bing Bada Boomers

A scene in the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes” has one of the characters proclaiming that she is too old to be young, and too young to be old. Next year, 77 million Baby Boomers will find themselves in that camp. Baby Boomers were born between (and including) 1946 and 1964. After American soldiers returned home from World War II in 1946, the United States experienced an explosion of births (hence the name baby boom) that continued for the next 18 years, when the birth rate began to drop.

Of the Democratic Presidential hopefuls, Hillary Clinton, born in 1947, represents one of the older Baby Boomers; Barack Obama, born in 1961 near the end of the baby boom generation, is one of the youngest Baby Boomers. Both are too old to be young, and too young to be old.

Some advertising agencies interested in generational marketing have divided American consumers into several groups. The “Happy Boomers” are between fifty and sixty and still working. They tend to be very active and in excellent health. The next generation, non-boomers between the ages of sixty-one to seventy-five years old, are labeled as the “Liberated” generation. They are individuals with a lot of freedom. Most are in good health with plenty of time on their hands, with an abundance of energy, and looking forward to the best time of their life. The next generation, also non-boomers between the ages of seventy-six to eighty-five, is called the “Peaceful” generation. These individuals have started to slow down, their health is often an issue, and they often are alone, especially women, because their husbands don’t tend to live as long. People eighty-six and older, the oldest non-boomers, are called “Old People.”

A lot has changed with the coming of the baby boom generation. Fifty-plus people want to hear that life is fabulous; they want to enjoy and discover new possibilities and start new things. They’re not standing at the end of their life but at the beginning of the golden period. AARP has a saying that “life before fifty is nothing but a warm up." Most Baby Boomers think that they are the center of the world. There is a negative aspect to being a member of the baby boom generation, however. Some of the older generation have started calling the Baby Boomers “BABOONS”, which translates into “BAby BOOmers, No Savings.”

Now a problem arises. As this huge boomer generation nears retirement, a linguistic question comes into view. What should we call this generation? We can no longer call them Baby Boomers, because they are no longer babies. Many don’t like to be called Boomers. How about calling them seniors or senior citizens? Elders? They don’t like those labels either. They think those names fit individuals 65 and over. Elderly? Geezers? They think that refers to the Old People over eighty-five . How about the labels of “Older People,” “Older Adults’” or “Older Americans?” No, the members of the boomer generation don’t like any of those labels. Those boomers toward the younger end of the age spectrum find “Middle-Aged”, “Midlife”, and “Mature Adult” acceptable.

Now if you really want to feel old, you should be aware than Barack Obama was two years old when JFK was assassinated; he was sixteen when Elvis died.

Do you have any suggestions for other possible names for members of the boomer generation?