Boomer Bardo

Baby Boomer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Baby Boomer is a North American-English term used to describe a person born between 1946 and 1964.[1][2] Following World War II, these countries experienced an unusual spike in birth rates, a phenomenon commonly known as the baby boom. The term is iconic and more properly capitalized as Baby Boomers.  

Bardo – Tibetan; means literally “intermediate state”; also translated as “transitional state” or “in-between state”.

Wherever you go, there we are! Baby Boomers are the largest generation in Western history. In-between aging parents and Gen X, Y and (and possibly Millennials). Hard-working, focused on tasks at hand and just in general doing what needs to be done to get the job done - Baby Boomers have been quiet (busy!) in recent years. Between Birth and Old Age, re-defining the age experience as we go (hey, 50 is not old!) - and generally between the proverbial Rock and a Hard Place, financially. 

Here in the U.S., if a significant portion of Boomers feel their only retirement fund is a shot at the World Poker Tour final table (now there’s a long shot!) and the only affordable insurance is “if I die, I die” - we’ve come a long way, baby! Maybe a question is: but are we on the right road? For sure, we’re in an indeterminate state.

But in any case – Boomer Reality keeps changing! Could be the Best of Times or the Worst of Times; depends on your Point of View and how you look at things, really. This shows every sign of being Quantum. Just when you think you have things all figured out – it shifts again.

Boomers are nothing if not adaptable – and very tough. We have seen the Cold War (”In case of emergency or nuclear strike, hide under your desk!”), the Vietnam War, The Nixon-Watergate years, the Yuppie Years (think Bonfire of the Vanities*), the Bush years and Iraq War, the rise of fax and then Blackberries, the shrinking of computers to personal communicator size (a la Star Trek), the shrinking of salaries and rise of the gas prices (a 70’s re-do; almost as bad a Dracula Rises Again, complete with the screaming) – as well as all the other personal crises, small and large, that weave together to create the whole life experience.

So – welcome to the Boomer Bardo! It’s like a big neighborhood – only larger and (in this case) exists only in cyber-space on the ‘net. We are Hangin’ in There, Baby!

If society in general (and some younger people in particular) cannot pat us on the back for surviving, hanging tough and doing what needs to be done during some very difficult periods – we can be supportive (or at least appreciative!) of each other in various alternate realities and small pocket universes – like Boomer Bardo.

That 60’s Peace, Love and Rock n Roll idealistic stuff - still has the right vibes!

* Bonfire of the Vanities, novel by Tom Wolfe, 1987