Read about Heath Jamin

Heath bring his good attitude and love for his generation with him to the site.  We look forward to his witty opinion on everything from sports to technology to airplanes!

Read about Don Bajema

Don is a celebratory in his own right and brings one heck of a resume along with him to BabyBoomers.com.  Don is an acclaimed actor, author,  and athlete.

Read about Aaron Hibben

Writing is a top hobby of Aaron who plans to cover technology as it pertains to boomers.  He hopes to  help bring baby boomers together and grow the community that is BabyBoomers.com

Boomers have made America the greatest economic power in the world and have brought untold number of scientific achievement to people throughout the world. One thing that especially bothered me was the assumption that we as a generation are hung up on material things. What Brokaw and others seemingly constantly forget is that it was our parents, the Greatest Generation, that gave us everything, made sure we were spoiled, and gave us the sense that if we had the money we might as well buy the toy. I think boomers as a whole are probably no more materialistic than any other generation. We’ve just had more chance to accumulate.You want spoiled, look at the generation we raised. We gave them things even we could never think of having.

That program left out a whole lot of things about being a boomer. It glossed over the overriding fear of nuclear attack we grew up with. No other generation in America’s history ever grew up under a constant threat of attack from a hostile power. We had to live with a mess of a world that Brokaw’s Greatest Generation left behind for us. We dealt with racial integration, we ended the cold war, we opened society up so that women had more opportunities and we dealt with the sudden complex emotional situation that the pill and later AIDS brought about. Brokaw should look in a mirror. His Greatest Generation lived most of their lives without protesting segregation or the inequality of the sexes. His Greatest Generation may have lived through the Great Depression as children when they weren’t responsible for putting food on the table or sending children to school. We lived through the economic malaise of the 70’s just as many of us entered the workforce and now our present economic troubles just as many of us prepare for retirement.

All-in-all I think we’ve done an admirable job in changing the world and making it more equitable not just in America but around the world. We’ve always had a bright future. We still do if we can set aside the doomsayers. Some said our revolution during the 60’s would fray society. It didn’t. It made us stronger. A minor economic setback shouldn’t get us down especially the generation that knows better than any that it isn’t material goods that make us who we are. “All we need is love.”

-From BabyBoomers.com member Wizard13

Remember Pappagallo flats from the ’60s with the flowers on the toes? Well, look for this retro embellishment all over the place this year. Rosettes and flowers are everywhere.

Just for fun, I found a few similar pairs of this season’s new flower-decorated sandals at a number of different price points.

See if you can match the price to the proper shoe … just by looking at the shoes. I’ll tell you more about them and where to find them at the bottom of this post.

#1 -- Is the price tag $23, $45, $58, $325 or $395?

#2 -- Is the price tag $23, $45, $58, $325 or $395?

#3 -- Is the price tag $23, $45, $58, $325 or $395?

#4 -- Is the price tag $23, $45, $58, $325 or $395?

and finally,

#5 --Is the price tag $23, $45, $58, $325 or $395?

Okay …

#1 is b.o.c.’s Day Lily sandal from DSW priced at $44.95. It has a leather upper and cushioned footbed and is available in seven fun spring colors.

#2 is Stuart Weitzman’s gorgeous LaBamba sandal priced at $325 on Zappo’s. Made in Spain, the upper is satin, the lining and soles are leather, and this style is available in fuschia, blue or black.

#3 is Merona’s Emilia leather comfort flower thong sandal from Target priced at $22.95. It comes in pearl, pink or black. I saw the pink in the store and it is fabulous and looks much more expensive than its actual price. The uppers are leather; the lining and insoles are faux leather; the sole is rubber w/ non-skid tread on the toe and heel.

#4 is Manolo Blahnik’s Suede-Flower thong sandal at Bergdorf Goodman or Nieman Marcus for $395.  This yummy little number is made in Italy of suede and leather and is available in blue, red or black.

#5 is Coach’s elegant Petunia flip-flop, which is available in major department stores for $58. The twist? They’re jellies … another retro trend (I guess the ’80s are far enough behind us to be retro). I saw a very similar Stuart Weitzman jelly sandal on sale in the $90 range on Zappo’s.

And don’t forget that the best accessory for your sandals is a nice pedicure. I searched “do it yourself pedicures” and found many, many sites that walk you through the process. They also suggest a LOT of products, but the basics steps and techniques are there for you. You probably have most of what you really need already on hand, so don’t be intimidated.

Thanks to BabyBoomers.com member Allie Jones for her contribution:

1. Senior Job Bank
2. WorkForce50
3. Seniors 4 Hire
4. Wise Worker
5. AZ Central
6. Senior Net
7. Experience Works
8. SR Staff
9. Now CC
10. The Retired Worker

Enjoy.  :  )

back_to_work_after_many_years

Dana has been a stylist for more than 30 years and a lot of her early clients have grown up with her. I think we’ve been together for at least 15 years. We met at softball games when our daughters were on the same team … and when I found out she did hair, I made an appointment. I mean, she always looked like a million bucks. (Actually, I have never seen Dana anytime, anywhere that she wasn’t fabulously turned out.) I figured she could make me gorgeous.

We talked about a ton of topics and ideas Saturday … too many to share in one post. One area that is on the minds of lots of women is how to stay looking great when they’re trying to save money or cut back on personal expenses altogether.

Dana gave me some suggestions that might be useful.

• Depending on your hairstyle, you may be able to extend the time between appointments by a couple of weeks. I generally schedule every five weeks, but since my hair is styled in a bob, I could pretty easily push the timetable. My hair grows really fast, so Dana long ago showed me how to trim my own bangs (which are styled like Reese Witherspoon’s) by twisting them and lightly running a razor down the twist to get the wispy look (I keep a throw-away razor in my make-up drawer).

• Many companies make color-protecting shampoo and conditioning products … Dana is a little skeptical … but thinks they might possibly help keep your color from fading.  I found a website called TheBeautyBrains.com that looks at the scientific recipes for beauty products. It says the only shampoo products that have shown some color protection are Tresemme and L’Oreal Colorvive shampoos. Beauty Brains goes on to say that from a conditioner standpoint, there are no standard rinse conditioners that help protect your color and your best bet is to use a leave-in conditioner spray. This will allow you to get the benefit from the conditioning agents without the negative effects of rinse water. (http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/06/16/will-color-protecting-products-really-protect-your-color/)

• There are quite a number of do-it-yourself hair color products. Dana says she knows from trying to touch up her own color how difficult this process is to do by yourself. She recommends getting a buddy to assist with the process.
  

  I can tell you for sure that this product really works ... my daughter and I used it to cover up my sister's "skunk stripe." Super, natural coverage.

  Apply the color at the hairline … never just smoosh it all over your hair. The smooshing results in an unnatural color build-up all over your hair, not just where you need to cover the “regrowth” (don’t you love that term?).

• The most important consideration with store-bought colors is matching the product to your hair as closely as possible. Dana suggests trying a color just a little lighter than the rest of your hair to touch up your roots. Most of us who color our hair aren’t trying to hide the fact that we’re messing with Mother Nature; we just don’t want a dark or light stripe at the scalp line.

• And finally, maybe scrimping on a salon visit isn’t completely in our best interests … so much self-image is tied up with appearance. My salon is a charming little non-franchise place and my services cost about 25 percent of what they do in a spa-type salon environment. Franchise salons such as Hair Cuttery and others might be good choices for color touch-ups, as they’re generally less expensive. I’d ask if they have anybody on staff that is particularly good with color before making the appointment. If you’re on a really tight budget, most communities have at least one hair design school that offers salon services performed by students under the supervision of a licensed instructor. And prices are usually fairly low … particularly for perms and other pricey services.

What money-saving ideas do you have for extending the life of your color or cut? Please share.

Just because you’re communicating online does not mean you should consider yourself exempt from any of the formalities of paper-based communication. Online cover letters are notoriously awful, poorly written throwaways of fewer than three lines whose only purpose is to say “I’m applying, this is my resume, have a nice day.”

When formatting the cover letter, stick to left-justified headers and four-inch wide text lines in your paragraphs. You never know when the address you’re mailing to has a small e-mail-page format that will awkwardly wrap text around the screen. Also, many e-mail systems cannot handle text enhancements like bolding, bulleting or underlining, so play it safe by using CAPITAL LETTERS — or dashes — if you need to make an emphasis. For more expert advice on cover letters, check out the Vault Job Search Survival Center .

Proper E-mail Cover Letter Etiquette

Anil Dash, the former chief information technology officer for an online music video production studio in Manhattan, lost his job this January when the company fired nearly all its employees. Since then, Dash figures he’s applied for more than a dozen jobs, contacting every one of the potential employers – befitting an out-of-work CIO – through e-mail.

But every time he prepares another e-mail, he faces a choice. Should he bother to write an e-mail cover letter, the sort of thing he’d do if he were mailing the resume, or should he merely dash off a few lines to the effect of, “Hi, I’m interested in your job, and I’ve attached my resume as a Word file. Thanks.”
“I do cover letters for jobs I really want,” Dash says. “For ones I don’t care about, I just spam them.”

Why cover letters still matter

According to recruiting experts, Dash is doing the right thing by writing extensive e-mail cover letters. Even though cover letters came of age in the age of pen and paper (or typewriter and paper), they still have a place in the 21st century, when want ads, resumes, and interviews all fly over virtual networks.
“It’s going over the Internet, but it’s the same product,” Madeline Miller, the manager of Compu-Type Nationwide Resume Service in upstate New York, said of e-mail cover letters. “The cover is very important and it should be the same quality if you were to mail it.”

Since e-mail messages generally tend to be conversational and quickly written, many people aren’t used to drafting carefully written e-mail cover letters. But Miller said any applicant who creates a fully-fleshed e-mailed cover letter has an advantage over an applicant with a more slapdash cover letter.

“There is a tendency to jot off a few lines, and people might write, “I’m applying for this job, here is my resume,” Miller said. “But if there is a cover letter, that could put somebody over the top.”
But at the same time, make sure your e-mailed cover letter isn’t a chore to read. If brevity is a virtue with conventional cover letters, it’s a necessity for e-mailed cover letters. You can find out more about cover letters with Vault’s expert career advice.

Appropriate cover letter length

Reesa Staten, the research director for OfficeTeam, a staffing service firm, says e-mailed resumes shouldn’t run more than two or three paragraphs.

“You want to include the same type of information, albeit in a shorter version,” Staten said. “What you don’t want to do is rehash your resume. There’s no need to restate what you’ve done in the past. What you want to do is tell them where you learned about the listing, why you’re right for the job, and how they can reach you.”

Tips for sending cover letters and resumes

If you really want the job, follow up an e-mailed cover letter and resume with a hard copy you mail. Make sure this hard copy includes a cover letter, too, that restates who you are and why you’re qualified. Somewhere in the cover letter, be sure to write, “I recently e-mailed you my resume and I’m following up with this hard copy.”

Why should you do this? A hard copy gives your resume another chance for exposure and makes it easier for a potential boss to pass around or file your cover letter and resume. In cases where your e-mailed cover letter and resume have been overlooked in someone’s in-box or rendered inaccessible by a computer glitch, a hard copy may be your only chance for exposure.

If you’re including a resume as an attachment, first make sure the prospective employer accepts attachments. Then, in your cover letter, mention the program you used to create your attachment. (“I’ve enclosed a cover letter written in Microsoft Word 2000.”) It’s also a good idea to include a cut and paste text version of your resume in addition, in case the person reading the resume doesn’t have the software to open your attachment.

With any resume file you’re attaching, open it first to make sure it’s updated, error free, and the version of your resume you want to send. Sending a virus is tantamount to sealing your job-doom.
Save a copy of whatever you send by including your own e-mail address in the “BCC” field or by making sure a copy goes to your “Sent mail” folder. This allows you to resend the letter if a problem pops up.
Lastly, don’t fill in the “to” field with the recipient’s e-mail address until you’ve finished writing and editing the cover letter and resume. This prevents you from accidentally sending off the message before it’s ready.

For more expert advice on the job search, from resumes and cover letters to interviewing and salary negotiation, go to the Vault Job Search Survival Center

I make my living in the marketing profession and recently saw an article penned (probably not actually penned, but that’s such a great verb) by one of Advertising Age’s boomer-aged writers who had been asked to name the top 15 boomer brands. Here’s her list:

Levi’s
Harley Davidson
Volkswagen (Beetle)
Slinky
Noxzema
The Beatles
L’eggs
Pepsi
Absolut Vodka
Saturday Night Live
Facebook
Frye boots
Coach bags
Club Med
Clairol

Whoa!

Frye boots? Club Med?

Where are Corvettes, Coke and Tab, Chuck Taylors, Disneyland? Clearasil, Marlboros, McDonald’s, Elvis and Campbell’s tomato soup?

A lot of ad and marketing types commented on the article … many echoing my own thoughts. Of course, it is pretty much impossible to speak on behalf of an entire generation. For instance, if you graduated from high school in 1964, you might have rolled up your Levi’s and slipped on your Bass Weejuns. But if you graduated in 1982, you were more likely to be lying on your bed, sucking in your breath and doing an early version of ‘the worm’ as you struggled into your Calvin’s.

It is also likely that geography played its part, too. Remember how East Coast girls had hip styles, California girls were tanned and Hawaiian girls wore french bikinis? It took a little longer for trends and brands to ripple back and forth across America.

One of the issues brought up about the Ad Age article is that the author’s selection criteria weren’t uniform. Facebook? Yes, the fastest growing user group is women 55+, but Facebook isn’t a brand made iconic by boomers. It isn’t a brand that survived from our childhood or youth until today. As one commenter said, “This is what happens when you look at a window instead of through it.”

So let’s turn back the clock to 1952-1982 and identify the top brands of the first half of the boomer generation. Down the road, we can look at our grown-up favorites.

Here are my own thoughts that, hmmmm, seem to represent a rather girly point of view … what can I say:

Breck shampoo – who didn’t want to be a Breck girl immortalized on the back cover of national magazines?

Coppertone suntan lotion – when I moved to Maryland from Florida, I kept a bottle of Coppertone on my dresser because one sniff transported me back to Daytona Beach

Pampers – definitely a revolution by boomer moms cause “we didn’t need no stinkin’ cloth diapers”

Mustang – the ultimate chick car (I’ve owned three)

Fashion brands … right now, I’m limiting my choices to high school and our central Florida preppy styles … Villager dresses and sweaters, Capezio flats, Ladybug dresses (remember they came with those cute little ladybug stick pins?), Bass Weejuns for guys and girls, Pappagallo flats and Etienne Aigner purses and sandals (pronounced AGG-ner where I came from). The guys were wearing Coach belts and Gant shirts (the ones with the loops on the back), Canoe and English Leather colognes (sigh).

Now it’s your turn to reminisce. Tell me what brands define the first three decades of the baby boom generation for you.

I look forward to hearing from you.

(Trademarks used in this article are property of their respective companies.)

…In this fluid marketplace a multiple identity is one of the best buffers against unemployment. Baby boomers as a whole are better educated than any previous generation, and their “education gives them an edge in the labor force where a college education is worth more than ever in the market place,” according to Campbell Gibson (4). Despite this, there are 9 million boomers who lack even a high school degree, according to a recent report by the Urban Institute. The number of people over the age of 45 with income below the poverty line rose to 10 million by the year 2005 according to the same source.

The nagging question to be asked is: Should boomers retreat, enjoy retirement, sit at home with the remote control in one hand and a book in the other and vegetate on their couches? Should they be content to repeat their parents cycle of early aging, waiting for the children to drop the grandchildren for a week-end stay and run for their busy schedules, or should they undust themselves and go back to schools, take advantage of the new information revolution and the government and employer’ funded training. 40 more years of life expectancy is worth the challenge of living it to the fullest. But how is this achieved?

As a whole, when the new millennium arrived and the first boomers turned 55, they did not look like their parents at that same age. At 55, the previous generations looked old, resigned to aging, and expected/accepted poor health as part of aging. 60 year-old today bring to mind images of very healthy, dynamic active people rather than old grandpas and grandmas images. It brings to my mind the image of a pink-cheeked lady wearing an elegant pink jogging suit, and trendy Nike sneakers, jogging energetically to the bus station to meet her granddaughter arriving from college to spend the thanksgiving holiday with the grandparents. “Meet grandma.” The young girl said to me and she watched me pull my jaw muscles to prevent it from falling. I was expecting my overweight grandma, with her gray-hair and denture, who at 55 described sicknesses modern science has yet to discover.

I am a proponent of the notion that baby boomers, who did everything different, do belong in the high institutes of education. Gail Sheehy insists that boomers do not start thinking of retirement but rather what do they rally want to invest their life in (2). She notes that women who have passed through menopause feel a power surge. As family obligations fade away, many are motivated to “stretch their independence, learn new skills, return to school, and plunge in a new career,” (4). Men, more conservative, do not anticipate a huge change in their life fifty and beyond, according to Sheehy (4).

As boomers hit middle age many of them returned to school. 23 million Americans were involved in adult education in 1984 compared to 100 million by 2004 according to Michele Compton and Candy Schock who conducted a research about nontraditional students for “Women in Business Magazine” (14).

Students 40 years and over are the fastest growing population on campus and graduate school. They represent 11.2% of all those enrolled according to Alan Bruce (1). Most boomers go back to school for work-related reasons but by the time they graduate its the personal area that had been improved most; increased self confidence, knowing one-self better, and a life time commitment to continued education.

In her thorough study, Gail Sheehy notes that the “first adulthood just happened to you. The second adulthood, you can custom design.” The boomers, plenty, healthy, energetic, and well-educated can make the second half of their life as exciting as they wish it to be. In fact, with all the excitement of new discoveries in spirituality, medicine, information, and technology, the new horizons of cosmetic surgery, stem cell research, DNA decoding, anti-aging remedies and many more years of life expectancy, boomers have but one choice: To invade higher education institutes, demand more new exciting fields of study and careers, and set themselves to go.

“Find your passion, and pursue it,” urges Sheehy, “Pull up your dormant self.” (9).

Whether they need the new degree for job security, self-satisfaction, a new or advanced career, or merely to decorate the living room walls makes no difference. This new exciting world is there, waiting for their conquest. And they earned it every time.

Part I here
(Contact Samiram at unkeedo@adelphia.net)

Sources:
“The Baby Boomer’s Aging Won’t Curtail Demand.” USA Today Magazine. April 97:4.

Blanchette, Patricia Lanoie. “Health and aging among baby boomers.” Generations. Spring 98: 76.

Bunce, Alan. “Baby Boomers Reinvade the Student Union.” Christian Science Monitor. 25 Nov. 1996: 13.

Compton, Michele & Candy Schock. “The Nontraditional Student in You.” Women in Business. July/August 2000: 14-17.

“Conversation about Demography with Harold Hodgkinson.” Connection: New England’s Journal of Higher Education & Economic Development. Summer 99:15+.

Gibson, Campbell. “The Four Baby Booms.” American Demographics. Nov. 93:36-37.

Gramigna, Glenn. “The Second Time Around.” The Buffalo News Magazine. 7 Oct. 2001: 20-21

Sheehy, Gail. “New Passages.” U.S News & World Report. 6 Dec. 1995: 62+.

“Save the Baby Boomers.” Techniques: Making Education & Career Connection. May 98: 7.

Kantrowitz, Barbara. “Health For Life.” Newsweek. Fall/Winter 2001 Special Edition: 4.

Never before had a generation conquered as many hurdles as the baby boomers did. Born in the aftermath of war-end jubilation, they entered adulthood during the Vietnam War that engulfed over sixty thousand of their peers. Angry and disillusioned, they started the Hippie movement, experimented with every fantasy and horror of their times, rebelled against all that was taken for granted by those who preceded them, and stirred the stagnant ideals of the American society. They got away with new music, new tradition, new literature, new style, and seemed invincible and unbeatable. If power is in numbers, there were so many of them, 78 million, to be precise. If & when they desire, they could be the most influential generation ever.

As their first infantry crossed 55-year of age, they might finally face the greatest challenge of their life: To age and fade away like their predecessors, or to grow, control their destiny and create a world where they can enjoy and flourish.

An economy in transition resulted in the advancement of only a slice of the young and professional generation of YUPPIES, who were positioned well enough to face the challenge.

That economy caused a punishing wage decline for non college educated workers while corporate downsizing “Robs many college-educated men of identity and meaning” (Sheehy 4).

The dwindling job market, coupled with the rapidly changing working environment requires a profound change in the attitude and the skills of the older generation, if they desire to remain a force in the work place.

Since the 80s, Corporate America has been sneaking our manufacturing jobs that once sustained this nation, overseas or south to Mexico and the other Central and South American countries. Dirt-cheap labor, armies of unemployed, lack of human rights, let alone labor rights and unions, encouraged the big manufacturers to sneak out of the country and establish new overseas empires. The new job market in America looks lacks the physical economy and looks more like a non-productive collection of consultation firms, an assortment of industrial and criminal investigation establishments, armies of lawyers, judges and law related workers, and a service sector to cater to the highly trained and highly paid executive and consultants of all types. Topping this enchilada is the largest government in the history of the United States with over 20 million happy, secured employees and still counting.

This challenge cast a heavy burden on the historically anti-establishment boomers. They have to adjust their perspective and start yet another revolution where they continue to achieve their dreams and fulfill the tasks of this new long age.

Due to the advancement in medical research and health consciousness, boomers are expected to live an average of eighty-five years and beyond. “One million of the first generation will live past one hundred according to the census bureau,” asserts Gail Sheehy. (2).

Americans born in the 1930s have no problem drawing social security benefits because there are so few of them and so many baby boomers to fill the coffers of social security with retirement and benefit funds, according to the distinguished educator, Harold Hodgkinson, who argues that “the small and shrinking workforce that followed the boomers, generation is not capable of providing the hefty bill for the 78 million boomers” (3).

This increased the burden on the boomers. They have to insure that they remain healthy, employable and most probably self-dependent when it comes to retirement. This Sandwich generation, as Barbara Kantrowitz calls them, has to care for their aging parents and for their own children and worry about retirement at the same time (2).

Unlike their parents and grandparent’s generations, the boomers will not resign to old age. They will not exchange their large home with a tiny dark apartment as they age. They will want to continue with a more affluent lifestyle till their last days.

Patricia Hendershott, professor of finance at Ohio State University, Columbus argues that “due to their higher level of education, and consequently higher income, baby boomers aren’t likely to cut on housing demand. They’re most likely to want to remain in their larger homes, or buy new condominiums and affluent houses in urban areas.” They have to find a way to make sure their income does not dwindle as they age.

Luckily, “There has never been a better time to grow old. Thanks to advancement in public health and medicine.” (Barbara Kantrowitz 1). “As the baby boomers, the generation that refuses to grow old moves through middle age and looks ahead to the next stage of life, they will undoubtedly reshape the way we think about aging and the limits of body and mind,” (2).

How do boomers feel about the challenge? “Buckled up and ready,” responds Cheryl Ladd who turned 58 on July (3).

Boomers present the potential to redefine aging. They may become “the healthiest, most productive, and most innovative group of older people that the world has ever seen,” states Patricia Blanchette (76).

Yet, to face the challenge of surviving, health has to be combined with education. Reinventing one’s self is the real buffer between successful growth and passive aging, “a conscious commitment to continuing self-education and the development of a whole set of strategies,” is a must if they were to face and win that challenge, according to Gail Sheehy (5.)

Reinventing one’s self is especially important for mental and physical health. 56-year old John Guare, playwright of masterpieces such as “Six Degrees of Separation,” reached that conclusion in 2001: “I told my wife I’ve got to reinvent my life, right now, or we’ll be dead. Worse than dead—the walking dead.” He reiterated to Ms. Sheehy.

Part II to here

(Contact Samiram at unkeedo@adelphia.net)

Sources:
“The Baby Boomer’s Aging Won’t Curtail Demand.” USA Today Magazine. April 97:4.

Blanchette, Patricia Lanoie. “Health and aging among baby boomers.” Generations. Spring 98: 76.

Bunce, Alan. “Baby Boomers Reinvade the Student Union.” Christian Science Monitor. 25 Nov. 1996: 13.

Compton, Michele & Candy Schock. “The Nontraditional Student in You.” Women in Business. July/August 2000: 14-17.

“Conversation about Demography with Harold Hodgkinson.” Connection: New England’s Journal of Higher Education & Economic Development. Summer 99:15+.

Gibson, Campbell. “The Four Baby Booms.” American Demographics. Nov. 93:36-37.

Gramigna, Glenn. “The Second Time Around.” The Buffalo News Magazine. 7 Oct. 2001: 20-21

Sheehy, Gail. “New Passages.” U.S News & World Report. 6 Dec. 1995: 62+.

“Save the Baby Boomers.” Techniques: Making Education & Career Connection. May 98: 7.

Kantrowitz, Barbara. “Health For Life.” Newsweek. Fall/Winter 2001 Special Edition: 4.