Once again, all too frequently lately, I was reminded. I read of the passing of another person of a certain generation. That generation is that of my parents. I have always been told that as you age time speeds up. I am learning that lesson well, through experience and yes, over time. It was a fact never hidden from me or glossed over. People pass away. A polite way of saying, they die. Now passing away is taking on a deeper meaning than that, passing away means they are in the past. All that remains is the memory of that person and whatever physical articles they may have acquired. Those articles will be fought over, distributed, and discarded, not necessarily in that order. But now I am thinking about an entire generation passing away. Surely that is a sign that I too have been around longer than I care to admit. I'm fortunate in that I still have my Mom. She is one of ten children, nine of which have passed on. The last of her generation from that family.
That generation has been labeled the Traditionalists or Silent generation. It was they who gave birth to the baby boomers. They are called the silent generation because they were taught as children, to be silent. Children should be seen and not heard. A traditionalist today is at least 72 years old today. If you are a man your average life expectancy is 76 and for a women it is 81. So if we go by the average it won't be much longer. Fortunately there are those that will exceed that expectation. My Mom has done that by seven years already. Generations overlap.
There are six generations alive today. The only one older than the traditionalists are the GI generation. Their numbers are miniscule. They were born prior to 1924 and would be at least 93 today. They are less than 2% of the population. Their time has come and gone, the ones remaining admired as a curiosity, their age something to aspire to. Their children, the silent generation will follow them and I watch that progress. It is the natural order of the world and nothing to be done about it. It is a sobering realization as the line for departure grows shorter.
I heard of the passing of the last soldier from WW1. In 2011, six years ago, Frank Buckles passed at the age of 110. The last American " dough " boy from the war to end all wars. The silent generation sent about 16 million " dog faces " to WW2. It is estimated they are leaving us at a rate of 492 every day. By 2036 there will be no living veterans of WW2. Will I live to hear that news ? I would have to become an aberration to do so, I would have to exceed what is expected. I would have to live to see the age of ninety ! It's a possibility.
Saying goodbye to the GI generation is far more likely. Their generation is defined as being born between 1901 and 1924. Estimates are the last will leave us within the next twenty years. It is hard to imagine an entire generation gone. Oh it isn't hard when you never knew anyone from that generation. Those folks are just historical figures. Their lives and accomplishments are subject to review and revision. Mr. Albert Woolson passed in 1956. I was three years old. Who was he ? He was the last veteran of the civil war. He had fought for the union. Can you imagine how he must have felt about what history had recorded in his lifetime ?
Each generation is distinct in its' beliefs and actions. Sociologists have written great tomes about this very subject. It is they that label the generations. That is a more modern day thing though. The labeling and time frames are disputed among those scholars. All agree that there are six living generations, that is the limit. That may change as we increase our lifespan. When we are born we are number six in the queue. The big question we all have, the one left unanswered is, will we make it to number one ? Number one means you're next. I'm standing at number three according to my calculations. I'm only half way ! This is one time I don't mind standing in line. Fact is, I'm hoping the line doesn't move at all.
That generation has been labeled the Traditionalists or Silent generation. It was they who gave birth to the baby boomers. They are called the silent generation because they were taught as children, to be silent. Children should be seen and not heard. A traditionalist today is at least 72 years old today. If you are a man your average life expectancy is 76 and for a women it is 81. So if we go by the average it won't be much longer. Fortunately there are those that will exceed that expectation. My Mom has done that by seven years already. Generations overlap.
There are six generations alive today. The only one older than the traditionalists are the GI generation. Their numbers are miniscule. They were born prior to 1924 and would be at least 93 today. They are less than 2% of the population. Their time has come and gone, the ones remaining admired as a curiosity, their age something to aspire to. Their children, the silent generation will follow them and I watch that progress. It is the natural order of the world and nothing to be done about it. It is a sobering realization as the line for departure grows shorter.
I heard of the passing of the last soldier from WW1. In 2011, six years ago, Frank Buckles passed at the age of 110. The last American " dough " boy from the war to end all wars. The silent generation sent about 16 million " dog faces " to WW2. It is estimated they are leaving us at a rate of 492 every day. By 2036 there will be no living veterans of WW2. Will I live to hear that news ? I would have to become an aberration to do so, I would have to exceed what is expected. I would have to live to see the age of ninety ! It's a possibility.
Saying goodbye to the GI generation is far more likely. Their generation is defined as being born between 1901 and 1924. Estimates are the last will leave us within the next twenty years. It is hard to imagine an entire generation gone. Oh it isn't hard when you never knew anyone from that generation. Those folks are just historical figures. Their lives and accomplishments are subject to review and revision. Mr. Albert Woolson passed in 1956. I was three years old. Who was he ? He was the last veteran of the civil war. He had fought for the union. Can you imagine how he must have felt about what history had recorded in his lifetime ?
Each generation is distinct in its' beliefs and actions. Sociologists have written great tomes about this very subject. It is they that label the generations. That is a more modern day thing though. The labeling and time frames are disputed among those scholars. All agree that there are six living generations, that is the limit. That may change as we increase our lifespan. When we are born we are number six in the queue. The big question we all have, the one left unanswered is, will we make it to number one ? Number one means you're next. I'm standing at number three according to my calculations. I'm only half way ! This is one time I don't mind standing in line. Fact is, I'm hoping the line doesn't move at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment