Generations

This weekend I was listening to Coast to Coast AM with Ian Punnett, the weekend host, interviewing Neil Howe. While most of the interview concerned the book, The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy by William Strauss and Neil Howe, one topic of discussion which arose was the topic of 'Generations'. At first I listened only in passing, as I had never really paid much attention to the topic of 'Generations'. Sure I had heard of the 'Boomers', 'Gen-X'ers, and more recently 'The Millennials'. I had never really paid much attention to the whole topic and it had never really caught my interest. I knew that it generally dealt with the history of the culture and events which were popularly associated with the groups of people who were born, raised, and came of age during an extended period of time in history. As a former History teacher this sounded fascinating and it aroused my interest. As I listened to some of the explanation about the different 'Generations' and the contrasts and comparisons between the different groups of people the whole topic began to become more intriguing. I determined I should do a little research, see if I could get more information, and try to ascertain if there was indeed anything to this 'Generations' thing. I found the topic to be very broad and there is a vast amount of information available. I also determined that there was more information than I could cover in one writing. I will try to break it down into a few interesting topics and give some explanation and insight into what I have learned about the topic of 'Generations'.

I will first focus on identifying three 'Generations' or distinct groups of people during the last century of U. S. History:

1. The Silent Generation: Members of this group were born between World War I and World War II and they were too young to have served during WW II, although many of them may have had fathers who served in WW I.
2. The Baby Boomers: This group is constituted of members who were born shortly after World War II. This period of time in U. S. History is distinguished by a general increase in the overall birthrate. This population explosion was also taking place in many countries around the world and there was generally a world wide "Baby Boom".
3. Generation X: This group consists of those who were born between about 1964 and 1981. Most members of this generation are the children of either the 'Baby Boomers' or the 'Silent Generation' and they came of age with such things as MTV, Cable TV, and Video Games.

One fact became immediately evident about the whole topic of 'Generations'. There is a variety of sub-groups within many of the groups and there is a bit of variation about the topics most influential and considered most important in determining the characteristics of each group. Sometimes popular culture and social trends seem most important while at other times politics and economic trends become more important in determining the specific period in history and the predominate characteristics of a particular 'Generation'. I will continue with this topic in a series of future Blog Posts and I will try to make some observations about some of our current affairs as affected by these 'Generations'.

Recipe Sunday! Or is it Mothers Day Sunday?

Recipe Sunday? Wait a minute, I think I have something wrong here. Recipe day in this Blog is supposed to be Wednesday. Well this will be a variation on that weekly Blog Post to commemorate my sister, Michal, and Mothers Day Sunday. As previously mentioned Michal passed away after a brief battle with cancer. This was also after she gave birth to her first and only child, Meredith. As I explained earlier I am getting some of my recipes from the cookbook, "Creative Cooking" published for a young women's group from her church, West University Baptist Church. Instead of a recipe I have chosen to take an excerpt from a page entitled

"FOOD FOR THOUGHT"

"(Some of Michal's favorite scriptures)"

"You are the world's seasoning, to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavor, what will happen to the world? And you yourselves will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the world's light - a city set on a hill, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father."

Matthew 5:13-16

Please note the obvious reference to flavoring or seasoning - that is the recipe connection. What I noted was the positive message and thoughts of praise. That was my sister, Michal. Positive and thoughtful for all of those around her, even in her most trying of times.

You may see a picture of my sister, Michal, on my Second Recipe Wednesday.

Here is a picture of my daughters, Janna and Kari, with Michal's daughter, Meredith.

Here we have my wife, Pam, and my daughters, Kari and Janna.

Happy Mothers Day! (Pam, Kari, Meredith, and Michal)

and also to Britt, Thomas' mother (Kari's mother-in-law)