As a practicing Baby Boomer, I have two things to confess: one is, I am often embarrassed by my tribe's annoying, self-importance pontification, and two, we are leaving the stage at an alarming rate. What began as a trickle, has now become a roar.
I happened to walk by a framed Exits Reunion poster yesterday and it suddenly dawned on me that there are only two of us in the photo who are still on the planet.
The Exits Exit Literally
And one of them is ME! (this proves my bonafieds as a Baby Boomer because no matter what the story is, it always comes back to the first person possessive).
The double-irony is that two of the guys who helped save my life during the rehearsal for this doomed gig, are now themselves six feet under.
Last Friday night at the Celebrity Theater, John Prine performed his crazy-eclectic "Lake Marie," which borrows the line "We gottah go now," from the Boomer, one-take, rock-n-roll classic "Louie, Louie." At this late date, the line takes on an ominous, portending gloom. Increasingly, incessantly, we, do indeed, have to go now.
"The hollow horn plays wasted words, proves to warn, that he not busy being born is busy dying."
—Bob Dylan
Mister Gottah-Go-Now
But we Baby Boomers do have a couple things to be proud of: we will have left behind some damn cool song lyrics—dare I say bitchin'—and we have one more bridge to cross, so let's get 'er done.
"Death is charged with energy."
—Hyman Bloom
What is a "practicing Baby Boomer"?
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