My Generation: Baby Boomers (1946 – 1964)

This post is a direct result of a comment on one of my recent posts: the comment was about the reincarnation of people who died during WWII. That would be about 75 million people (about 3% of the world’s population at the time). The comment was focused on the Holocaust (6 million Jews) and who they answer to in their new lives. The idea’s bit twisted, in my opinion, but nevertheless interesting.

Sometimes, from inside a generation, it is impossible to view your fellow members with objectivity. We are a vocal group of humans who have been shouting the odds since we were old enough to go to school. Have you ever wondered why? Only reincarnation, as an explanation, makes total sense.

List the accomplishments of our generation, and at the top will be peace marches, counter-culture and drug usage. The Vietnam War became a world-wide target for protest. Civil Rights became another rallying cry. Birth control was on our minds, and abortion became a mother’s right. No wonder our parents despaired of our ever growing up. And then, we turned to spirituality and Eastern religions.

In the 70+ years that I have been alive, we have seen how the world really works, and we have been (not so) quietly trying to wake the other generations up. So far, so good (at least in our own humble opinion).

And, even during this pandemic, our generation will probably be the one that outlives every other generation (in longevity). Do you doubt it? We don’t. We already died in WWII, but we’re still alive.

Highwayman

The Highwaymen

I was a highwayman
Along the coach roads, I did ride
With sword and pistol by my side
Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade
The bastards hung me in the spring of twenty-five
But I am still alive

I was a sailor
I was born upon the tide
And with the sea, I did abide
I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico
I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow
And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed
But I am living still

I was a dam builder
Across the river deep and wide
Where steel and water did collide
A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound
But I am still around
I’ll always be around and around and around and around and around and around

I fly a starship
Across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I’ll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
I’ll be back again and again and again and again and again and again

Jimmy Webb