ONE NATION UNDER CLOD. 2004:EMBARRASSED 2005:HORRIFIED 2006:TERRIFIED 2007:

The baby boomers have arrived. Being one of the first, having been born in 1948, I thought I would chronicle "The Era of the Boomers." So occasionally I'll write about our arrival after WWII up until our beginning to turn sixty, on January 1, 2006. So this is to us, the hippies, yippies, and yuppies of the world who are about to give a whole new meaning to old age. Sixty will never be the same.

There is some disagreement as to the exact dates encompassing the baby boom. By most definitions, and the most widely accepted start date, is 1946. The end date is also disputed, but the most agreed upon appears to be 1960, although some extend it until 1964. Those last four years are a bit removed for me, so I'm using 1946-60. That fourteen year span covers an unprecedented increase in the birth rate. There have been various theories postulated as to the explanations for this increase, but, when you narrow it down, the simplest seems to be there were a lot of horny soldiers returning home from WWII. Abstinence makes more than the heart grow fonder. Kids started being born in 1946 and it didn't end until 1960. Now that's a lot of fondness.

The exact number of kids born during that fourteen year stretch is also debated. The numbers that come up the most range from 76-78 million. That translates into about 7918 boomers turning sixty each day, 330 every hour, or 5.5 boomers turning sixty every minute, each day, from January 1, 2006 until January 1, 2021. Old has never been produced at such an accelerated rate.

Anyway, over the coming months, I'll periodically write about a wide range of topics concerning the effects of baby boomers on every walk of life. The 60's was the decade that best defines the boomers. The music, events, and social changes produced lasting effects on the country, from sock hops, to Woodstock, to the White House. I will discuss in detail how baby boomers will redefine old age, how we will effect social security, health-care, and retirement. Along the way I'll throw in some talk about the first generation to grow up with television, the draft, Black Panthers, Haight-Ashberry, Beatlemania, sex, drugs and rock and roll.

So if you're a boomer, I think you'll find the days ahead to be interesting, self-reflective, and fun. If you're not a boomer, you might want to pay close attention, because it's fairly likely your boss is. So here's to turning sixty. You can bet we don't like the idea and will do everything in our power to remain young thinking, vital, charged with energy, and stay out of nursing homes.

WE NEED A PRESIDENT WHO'S FLUENT IN AT LEAST ONE LANGUAGE.

I've often wondered what it would be like to be a different color or nationality, in America. Being a white, male, Protestant(at least I'm not Republican), I haven't had many problems, at least by appearance, being accepted or fitting into most situations. My life has taken a path that sometimes gives me an inkling of how it might feel, but it's generally very fleeting and, I'm sure, quite insignificant by comparison. I recall in the late 60's hearing Fred Hampton speak in Chicago. I must have been around 19. He was a Black Panther and as good a speaker as I have ever heard, before or since. The crowd was mainly black and he didn't have a lot of praise for white folk. As he worked the crowd, I can remember feeling not so much fear or being scared, but ashamed. I'd never felt ashamed for being white. I grew up in a lily-white town, ironically only 20 miles from East St. Louis, Illinois. It was not until I went to college that I even had contact with any minorities. The intensity of the situation and the fact that it was hard for me to identify with the anger and frustration I was hearing threw me into what I would later come to understand as a peak, or defining moment, in my life. Everything stopped. I was suddenly confronted with my own racist and bigoted beliefs. While the commotion around me was quite intense, the battle taking place within me was much worse. I don't believe Fred Hampton intended this to be a peak moment for some white guy in the crowd, but it was. It was a difficult cleansing, in a difficult situation, but a necessary one. I wanted to thank him for stirring my soul, but I never got the chance. The Chicago police shot him to death not long after, in an extremely controversial raid on his home. It was clear he was way too persuasive of a speaker. He could move white people to seek redemption for their unjust ways. That scared a lot of people. Ends up it made me a better person. Ends up it made him dead.

IF YOU WANT A NATION RULED BY RELIGION, MOVE TO IRAN.