The Ostrich - New Baby Boomer Mascot

WARNING – Proceed at your own risk: The following has been labeled an angry email, in other words: it might make you angry (I was actually quite happy during the writing process). Please do not continue unless you are willing to take responsibility for your own actions, think your own thoughts and really mean it when you say you have an open mind. In other words, you need to be a bit out of step with “m, m, m, my generation.”

Okay you’ve been warned.

I just finished reading one of those stereotypical emails contrasting the idyllic 1950’s with the terrible Two-thousands. It was titled: “Schools 1957 vs. 2007” and it gave 8 different scenarios and how they were allegedly handled in 1957 versus how they'd be handled today. Here's one example from the email:

Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1957 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.

I usually get a small burst of sentimental juice out of this kind of thing. But not today.

I’m just getting so tired of the arrogance of my generation: people born between 1945 and 1965, commonly referred to as Baby Boomers.

I was born in 1957 and turned 50 in 2007 so I’ve experienced some of these ‘changes’ that are alluded to in the example above. Notwithstanding, this type of email strkes me as another one of our Baby-Boomerized, Brady Bunched self-serving fantasy island emails contrasting the absolute best case scenario of 1957 vs. the absolute worst case scenario of 2007.

What gets me is how we pass around these emails like some kind of religious relic or cultural fossil from a past era, when boomers roamed the school hallways. We pick up the relic or fossil, turn it over in our hands, calmly adjusting our reading glasses, then sigh and knowingly shake our heads ever so sentimentally and pass it on.

This kind of pig swill is just so predictable and trivial. Is there really ANYBODY left in America that does not know that it was different 50 years ago? I mean everybody 45 and older knows it. And probably any of our kids who grew up with us have had to endure hearing it like a zillion times…so I’m just wondering out loud: Why do we keep doing this to ourselves?

You know it's kind of like when our parents would get out the round trays of faded slides from the top of the hall closet and subject guests to a few hours of our family's history.

"There's Joey at the top of the slide. There he is at the bottom of the slide. Isn't that a cute snowsuit?"

At least our parents served Tom Collins or Old Fashioneds with the pig swill. Now we're just dry and dull.

There’s no doubt that things were simpler and less complicated in 1957 and there’s no doubt that we have become, in our quest to be understanding and tender-hearted, a bunch of whiners sometimes but here’s what I would ask myself if I was a young person today:

“Okay so it was better back then well then how come your generation (Baby Boomers) went and screwed it all up? After all you are, or were, our generation’s principals, teachers, parents, police officers, guidance counselors, doctors, psychologists, etc.”

I think that would be a very fair question. And I wonder how we’d answer it?

Maybe we should start by asking ourselves the question: “How did it get so bad so fast when we intended to do so much good?”

Then we should quickly follow it by: “What can we do before we die to make it better?”

After all we’re supposedly a generation of cause-oriented, individuals seeking the good of the social collective.

Right now I think the most good we can do is de-bunk, de-mystify and de-louse the country from all the pseudo-intellectual, feel-good crap we’ve shoved down the palates of too many unsuspecting ‘you-tes”. It’s time for the “Don’t Mess Around with My Generation” clan to do a little housekeeping and clean up a few of our own messes before we go noisily into that dark night (don’t worry, we never do anything quietly…that’s what the “boomer” really stands for in baby boomer…).

After reading this glorification of the 1957 schoolyards, I was reminded of another type of email in this genre that I receive at times. This other type of email typically contrasts kids from the 1960’s (allegedly us Wonder Bread children) playing outside and riding bikes while today’s overweight kids are at home on the couch playing video games and watching movies (like their parents).

When I read these I think to myself: “Okay, who invented these gadgets? Who buys these things and puts them in the home?”

You know what I mean? Isn’t this more of a condemnation of us, you and me, from either our parents (the over 70 crowd) and/or from our children (the under 40 crowd) about what we’ve screwed up over the past 40 years? We’ve somehow presided over a period in America's history that seemingly turned simple idyllicism into complicated consumerism and then we pass around these unmetered paeons of trivia to each other electronically, lamenting the loss. Sounds a lot like hypocrisy to me.

I say it’s time we baby boomers grow up and face the music: we wanted social justice, diverse inclusivity, freedom from moral restraints and the negation of individual and societal feelings of guilt that use to accompany traditionally bad behaviors and lifestyles and now we’ve accomplished that. And alongside of it another crop has grown up as well: the worst case scenarios of 2007 with which we are all familiar.

Maybe all those “repressed feelings” and “unliberated bondage” of the home, family and work environment weren’t as bad as we obviously thought they were back in the late '60's and early '70s when we were blowing up buildings and burning bras in the same cauldron with common sense and decency. Maybe that’s where the “baby” part of baby boomer comes in: we throw babies out with the bathwater, even if we don’t bathe ourselves.

I sure hope the under 40 crowd finds a better way to deal with their ‘cultural angst’ than we did. As Baby Boomers, we’re allegedly very much ‘in touch’ with the impact that our dealings have had upon the physical environment: trees, waterways, animals, etc. However despite our eagle eye awareness of "mother nature", our generation appears almost blind to the havoc that our social manipulations and ‘creative psychological engineering’ have caused in the day to day lives of ordinary Americans.

Where did the worst case scenarios of 2007 come from?

But of course, it’s greedy capitalists in big corporations (except ones in Boulder and certain parts of California) who caused this or, let’s see, maybe it’s the uptight, judgmental right-wing religious nuts or those uncaring Republicans or it could be global warming, well probably not…but it’s somebody’s fault darn it…it can’t be ours because we’re the young (in heart), groovy, hip, socially conscious, love the world, imagine there’s no heaven, blow up all your guns and bombs, BABY BOOMER generation.

We’re the greatest generation that never lived up to it’s potential but we’re still willing to hug you, your trees and your atheist neighbor because if we could all just get one more summer of love, share our dreams and our wallets together in a kind of daisy chain of humanity than we could maybe love bomb our enemies into community by throwing out our aura into the global mentality while acting locally to encourage free expressions that run counter to the intuition of thousands of years of culture, religion and experience. Our way of thinking about the world just HAS to be right because we believe we can change the universe if we’ll just concentrate hard enough, rub our Birkenstocks together and repeat the mantra “There’s no right or wrong…if it feels good, just do your own thing”.

Come on people now, smile with me, hold my hand and sing “Nothing’s going to change my world”…Pay no attention to that terrorist cell in the small town or that radical mosque that’s asking for Sharia law outside of the constitution…Just concentrate people, if you can’t see your navel anymore use any part of your body, feel your skin, be here with me now…ready, sing it out: “Nothing’s going to change my world”…

That's it, really concentrate on it, feel it and the universe will bring it to your door without you having to lift a finger or, God forbid, sacrifice a career or defer a desire…get out the spf 50, there’ll be no raisins in the sun as long as our generation rains...I suggest in the meantime that you buy an umbrella unless you're an Ostrich, in which case you've already got your head covered...in sand...

People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

Just because we get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

Why don't you all f-fade away (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

And don't try to dig what we all s-s-say (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

I'm not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

The Who - My Generation (1965)

@ 2008 Joseph Ricciardi Jr

Failure - It Actually is an Option

Have you heard the phrase: “Failure is NOT an option”? Well it makes for a great line in a movie but in life many times failure is a great option.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m no pessimist or quitter; I like winning as much as anyone.

But when you’ve done the best that you can in business or a hobby or perhaps even a relationship and you’re still not getting where you want to, it just might be okay to admit that you failed. Now I didn’t say give up. I said to admit failure. There’s a difference, subtle as it may be.

As long as you can make a difference, you should persevere. It was Winston Churchill who said: “Never, never, never give up” when facing the german attacks during the WWII.

It was also Winston Churchill who said: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Churchill understood that at times, we fail, plain and simple. And it’s the ability to get back up and into the race again that is the important point.

People ask me all the time how I am able to juggle three businesses, a family, hobbies, part-time work and other interests. It’s an easy answer: I’m used to failing and it doesn’t scare me.

But I know and have known many men and woman who are paralyzed by the fear of failure and in that state never try to accomplish anything unusual or of great value. Fearing to fail they never do but then again they never do succeed either.

I have known both: failure and success and I can honestly say that there isn’t much different between the two except the press you receive after the fact. I’m just as scared sometimes to succeed as I am to fail. I thank God for His Grace that allows me to stay in the game despite my less than stellar record at the plate.

So if you’ve always wanted to do something but have been afraid to fail, well don’t let that stop you. And if you’ve been praying for a miracle like David did with his offspring with Bathsheba but the baby’s died anyway, well get out of the ashes, put off your sackcloth, wash up and get a meal. Failure is NOT the end of life. Sometimes it’s just another stop on the road.

Enjoy the following poem by Edgar Guest. God bless you.

The Loss Is Not So Great
Edgar Guest

It is better as it is: I have failed but I can sleep;
Though the pit I now am in is very dark and deep
I can walk to-morrow's streets and can meet to-morrow's men
Unashamed to face their gaze as I go to work again.

I have lost the hope I had; in the dust are all my dreams,
But my loss is not so great or so dreadful as it seems;
I made my fight and though I failed I need not slink away
For I do not have to fear what another man may say.

They may call me over-bold, they may say that I was frail;
They may tell I dared too much and was doomed at last to fail;
They may talk my battle o'er and discuss it as they choose,
But I did no brother wrong--I'm the only one to lose.

It is better as it is: I have kept my self-respect.
I can walk to-morrow's streets meeting all men head erect.
No man can charge his loss to a pledge I did not keep;
I have no shame to regret: I have failed, but I can sleep.

@ 2008 Joseph Ricciardi Jr

Joey B. Goode

I wish I could tell you I was a good guy. I’m not.

I’m not necessarily a bad guy either…I’m just a guy.

I think that it isn’t a matter of goodness as much as a matter of character.

You know how Jesus said: “Call no man good…except God” or something like that?

There really is no good thing in me. I don’t feel like I have a fountain of innate goodness flowing through my soul. I mean I have the comforter, the holy spirit, and that’s good and pure and righteous. But in and of myself I can’t say I’m “good”.

Remember your mom (or dad) calling you a good boy or good girl? What did they mean by that? It was almost always related to some behavior, something you did: either you obeyed or helped out or did a good deed, etc. Goodness wasn’t related to being as much as it was to doing.

Okay so I don’t want to get too heavy here nor do I want to get bogged down into a Buddhist-like discussion of the nuances of being versus doing, etc. I only bring it up to make my point which is: goodness isn’t innate. We’re not just “good” men or women. We make ourselves “good” by doing acts that are recognized as being “good” (and not evil) and these are more a result of our conscience or character than of any inherent goodness in us.

I know that goodness is one of the fruit of the spirit. It a sense it is a “doing” fruit whereas something like “joy” is more of an experience than an action. So as we “put off the old man with his deeds” (action) and “put on the mind of Christ” (action) we are “transformed by the renewing of our minds” and therefore not like everyone else in the world.

But is that true because of our birth? Is it a result of what family we were born into? Is it true because of where we live, who we know, how much money we acquire? No. You know a good tree by its good fruit: beginning and end of story.

A man or woman that wants to have friends, must be friendly. So a man or woman that wants to be “good” must do “good things”…act in a way that portrays goodness.

And I’m not talking about acting in the sense of a Broadway actor playing a role, although at times it might be beneficial to “fake it till you make it” in life. But I’m talking about acting (or it’s converse: not acting) by a deliberate decision of the will.

For example: most of us would never steal something because we know it’s wrong. How do we know it’s wrong? Well in the sense of the natural law, we wouldn’t want anyone stealing from us. Then maybe our parents put us in mind of this by teaching us the Ten Commandments or another body of religion or philosophy that advised: Thou shalt not steal. Then perhaps we live in a society that discourages theft by enforcing the laws of the land and providing negative consequences for engaging in that activity.

All of this adds up to the end result that: most people do not steal. But what about the old story of Abraham Lincoln walking a mile to return a penny? I don’t know if any of that is true but it’s a cultural thing so what about that? What if a shopkeeper accidentally rang up your order and forgot to charge you for a book or a DVD or a small appliance. Maybe it was only $10 or $20 or $30. Would you go back to Wal-Mart or Target and show them the receipt and pay them the difference? Or would you think: “Oh they’re rich enough, they don’t need my money”?

You know, I think I’ve done both: gone back and not. Why? Because I’m not inherently good or anywhere close to perfect. I believe in goodness, oh wretched man that I am, but I don’t always practice it. We all look good at times, to the outside world. We give “good” advice. We do “good” works. We sponsor “good” activities. We appear to be upstanding, “good”, solid citizens. And, for the most part, we are. But then ask our spouses (male or female) about us and sometimes a whole different picture emerges. Why? Because we’re not that good? No, more because when you live with someone everyday in a close up and personal way you see all the dirty underwear, all the times you’re tired or confused or angry or depressed or whatever. And so when friends and acquaintances and neighbors think how great we are, we can then come home to our husbands and wives and be reintroduced to reality.

That’s too big a subject to go into because on some levels, the love of God manifested dictates to our hearts that we overlook, forget, forgive and NOT bring up all those weaknesses and foibles to each other. You know love is patient, love is kind, love doesn’t thrust itself in the center ring, etc. Love is another fruit of the spirit. It’s not the natural condition of the sons and daughters of Eve (and Adam) to live there. We bear children in stress and we work out the thorns and thistles in the ground to get our bread in the sweat of our faces and then we return to the dust unto which we came. Not exactly an epic movie script.

But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love, gave us His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in him shall not perish but have life in the age to come. Now there’s a man that proved himself worthy of acclamation. Our Lord Jesus Christ went through the fires of persecution, torture and crucifixion for our sins and came out the other side of that experience a whole new man able to save us to the uttermost who follow him. And when the Pharisees called him “Good Master”, he says to them: only God is good boys…don’t call me good. How do you like that?

I like it a lot and it’s one of the realities that keep me pursuing righteousness, goodness, faith, meekness, etc…all those things that “against which there is no law”. I have not reached these things but I am confident that they are more real than gold and silver which I can see and that the fruit of pursuing after them, is better than any earthly master can pay.

So am I good? Not really. I’m just convinced that my soul is worth more than the whole world because without it: where am I really? So, in a sense, I’m a mercenary, I’m a survivor, I’m a fanatic, I’m a fool for Christ’s sake that I may hold on to my golden ticket and see, if not Paris, London, Bangkok and Macchiu Pichu, at least I may open my eyes in the Kingdom of God and behold the Holy City someday, in the age to come. When I think about that, it’s really not that hard to labor in the sweat of my face against the weaknesses that are within me. When I forget that, even the holy spirit within me can’t help me overcome my feelings of self concern and doubt.

So I pray that God piles just enough fertilizer into your life and mine to keep us growing; not too much to burn us up, but just enough to make us very fruitful in all things pertaining to Him. It’s some good sh_t even though it really stinks at times!

Be good by doing good and, if you think you’re wise, then become a fool. It’s a great career move. The benefits are out of this world.
@ 2008 Joseph Ricciardi Jr