I am a proud, card-carrying member of that great generation known as the Baby Boomers. We were all born when our fathers returned from WWII with patriotism in their hearts and lovin’ on their minds. And man did they ever love. Born between 1946 and 1964, Boomer birth rates soared so much that there are some 76.4 million of us wandering around this planet. Now, at the other end of the scale, 11,200 of us turn 65 every day and we are busy signing up for Social Security and Medicare.
I did some digging around the internet and found a few interesting facts about Boomers that I wanted to share.
By 2030 all Boomers will be aged 65 or older, causing some long lines at the Walmart pharmacy. It’s interesting that our US population is growing older in general due to us taking such good care of our health and the fact that birth rates are so low. While 60% of us have worked hard to prepare for retirement, 40% of us are living solely off of Social Security benefits, and that’s a scary thought.
We share a lot of characteristics ~ most of which we can be proud of and some, well, not so much. We are often called the “Me Generation”, and we did usher in the era of divorce and recreational drug use. But on the flip side we are known to be generally positive, confident and we worked hard to make our businesses grow while buying homes in record numbers. We supported labor union growth and wanted our schools to become more accessible for all children.
As our families grew, we packed up the station wagon and moved to the suburbs with many of us using the GI bill to secure home loans. We created spaces in our homes for fun and leisure and called them family rooms – complete with TVs. Formal dining rooms became less important and we knocked down walls to create open floor plans featuring large kitchens where islands served as family gathering places.
And naturally, we led the fitness revolution. We started running, going to health clubs. Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda became our national heroes. Pickleball (and its related health issues) has become our national sport as evidenced by the record number of us hobbling into Urgent Care
And yes, we do love to travel but prefer to avoid busy holiday seasons. We enjoy leisure travel sevices, RVing and activity packages. We also like to do our own online research and we are more likely to seek out deals.
We Boomers have lived through some rough times like JFK, RFK and King assassinations. Who can forget Watergate and then 911? But it is the tough times that have tempered our steel and formed us into the strong individuals we are.
We do live a life of contradictions. While we are less likely to smoke or experience heart attacks, we are more likely to be obese and suffer from diabetes than the previous generation at the same age. Go figure.
In any event, I am proud to be a member of this vibrant generation stocked with social, happy people. Whisper Creek is a buzzing community filled with more activities that you can stuff into a week.
Now if someone can point me in the general direction of the Community Center Rec Hall, I would be ever so thankful.
MEET THE AUTHOR ✍️
Fellow Whisper Creeker Greg Stangl comes to us from the great state of Wisconsin. He and his wife Colleen spend summers on Lake Wisconsin and enjoy the leisurely winter months here in our little paradise together with their beautiful Springer Spaniels Isabella Rosalini and Sophia Loren.
Greg is a professional photographer, speaker and writer who not only owned a photography studio for 40 years, but also taught college courses and lectured on the subject in 35 states and 7 countries.
Greg’s other passion is writing. He has published works in 10 national magazines and also authored workbooks employed in photography and marketing. Whisper Creeker News is both honored and excited for Greg to share his creative writing talents with us as well!
ENJOY ‘THE STANGL ANGLE” BLOG ARTICLES AS THEY’RE POSTED EVERY SUNDAY!
