What do Gen X and millennials Want? Part 3

 THINGS I SEE FROM DAYS GONE BY THAT CAN NEVER BE THE SAME

I copied the article entries, and then addressed each category in bold green  

Photo Albums
No, not the Google photo album on your phone. We're talking real life physical photo albums with real life physical printed photos. Ya, we know—if you're under 30, none of those words make any sense.

It is important not to discard these old photos, especially those family portraits and the old photos from the 1800s and turn of the 20th century. It's your family history. Please cherish these as they cannot be replaced once they are trashed.

Phone Calls
Yes, younger people still make phone calls. However, a text or DM is often the first choice and if someone doesn't answer, you don't leave a message (they can see that you called on their phone).

What is more valuable than someone's voice wishing you a good day, especially someone who truly cares about you. We see it as rude to just hang up and let you guess why we are calling. Then again, we are the generation that will look you in the eye, greet someone openly and value the conversation. We truly were taught proper etiquette.  

Voicemail
Think about the last time you had a voicemail. Odds are it was either from a business confirming an appointment or from someone over 60. And let's not forget...
 We are sorry to inconvenience you with our voices. Same answer as above. 

Leaving Date, Time, And Name In Voicemail
"Hi, it's Dad. It's 1:30, Thursday afternoon..."
 This is not needed anymore, true. As the calls are time stamped. I, however, like to hear a greeting and/or to know if there is something that I need to be aware of. 

Wearing A Suit And Tie To Work
It started with casual Fridays and we've been adding more days of the week ever since.

Believe me, we were most excited when we were allowed to wear jeans on Friday. However, there are certainly professions that we expect to carry the formal protocol. It shows class. We don't expect this to be an everyday thing, but there is nothing wrong with making yourself the best that you can be.
 
Checks
Think about the last time you saw someone write a check? How old were they? There are surely many people reading this who have never written a check in their lives. And never will.

Come on! Our generation didn't live on plastic. It can be a disaster as you rack up debt. When you use a check, you should write down and keep a record of your expenses. This younger generation does not seem to understand living within their means. NOT racking up a huge debt! It is also a way that I save some people, like my hair stylist, from having the expense of processing payments. Then honestly, we are not adept enough, nor trust our phones with our finances. 

Formal Living Rooms
For all you young people: A formal living room was a full room in the house that was only used when guests came over. It also usually had nicer furniture and accoutrements than did the regular living room that was used by the family 99% of the time. And not only was it only used when guests came over—you were not allowed to step foot into it at any other time. 

I pity those who find this as something to complain about. It is with pride that we have a room that represents us. When guest arrive, they don't walk into a room that is littered with our mess of the day. 
 
Couches Wrapped In Plastic
This one pretty much ended with the parents of boomers—but there were probably a few boomers who kept the annoyingly noisy and uncomfortable tradition alive.

No, we no longer live on plastic wrapped couches. But let me put it into perspective. My parents had nothing when they started out. Times were tough after WWII, and when Daddy began to make enough to start buying good furniture in the early 1950's, my parents had 1 toddler and 2 very young children. And NO, we didn't live on it for all that long. I can only imagine how Mother felt when she finally decided to take off the cover...and let go of the "newness".
 
Cable
The cord-cutting began years ago and with the proliferation of streaming services, it's only gotten worse (for cable companies, that is). From just under 100 million cable household subscribers in 2017, that number now sits under 70 million in the United States—not to mention the fact that close to 80% of cable subscribers are over 60 years old.

Instead of bashing us, maybe you should seek out an elderly couple who doesn't understand new technology...and help them out, setting it up with explanations. We live on a set income, and we prefer to do things ourselves, BUT hiring people to come in, takes money, time and trust. You will understand one of these days, when things seem to have left you behind. 

Organized Religion
No, we definitely aren't predicting the end of religion. That's not going to happen. However, we can point out that 68% of 18 to 49-year-olds are religiously unaffiliated—as compared to 18% in the 80s.

I'm speechless and heartbroken about this. I will go to my grave knowing that THIS is the main reason our nation is falling apart. We believe in the word of God. We understand that following His laws are difficult and that hard truths are buried deep in those laws. People now-adays want to change the narrative to make it easier to live with a clear conscience, so they set a new standard, rather than to live by the law. In the end, you will face judgement.
 
Cash
Again, like religion, we aren't predicting it will go away completely. But think about how often you tap and swipe as opposed to pull out cash from your wallet to pay for anything. You might've also noticed more and more businesses popping up with signs saying "Cash Not Accepted".

I have no words. The value of a dollar in your hand and understanding that when it is passed OFF in exchange for an item, it is NO longer in your hand. You have to build up the supply again before the next purchase. Just like recording and keep up with your paper checks. I addressed the PLASTIC world above and it is disgusting how people are living in debt because they want to be instantly gratified.
 

What do Gen X and Millennials Want? Part 2

Here is the article. It was the title that created unrest within me. The "Fingers Crossed" part. Like wishing my generation would just Go. Away! Again, Now I understand what my mother and my mother-in-law were thinking and feeling when they were my age. They both voiced concern about the direction we, as a nation, were going.

Everything that will disappear with the baby boomer generation (fingers crossed)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/parenting/everything-that-will-disappear-with-the-baby-boomer-generation-fingers-crossed/ss-AA1Vun1n?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=698463c3b2f34cecaab1d59890494c0e&ei=46#image=30

Here's the introduction to the article, "Born between 1946 and 1964, Baby Boomers are now in their 60s and 70s—and they’re still happily doing (and using) a bunch of stuff that younger generations mostly treat like urban legends. Which means as the Boomer era fades out, a surprising list of items, habits, and everyday rituals might fade out with it—possibly for good."

For good... yep! let's do away with them. That’s fine…but there are a few things that are deep core principles of human nature that are disturbing for the young people to ignore. I have decided to divide their complaints into two sections because, I don't use some of these things anymore, either. Which led me to the wording "urban legend". Let me clarify. The things listed in this article are HISTORY, not urban legend. As a schoolteacher, it was fun to teach urban legends. But that is not what these things are.

URBAN LEGEND - definition.  Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not.

In this Part 2, I will address the things that I admittedly do not use anymore, just because life moves forward, things change and we adapt to that. It make me sad that these younger people don't realize that THEY are the ones leaving us behind. I was lucky enough to still be a teacher when the computer was introduced into the classroom and had training on how to use them. And honestly, it was fascinating to see how my students could quickly adapt and help teach ME. But now as a retired person, I DO feel left behind with some of the newer technology, and no one seems to care that these concepts are difficult for older people who don't have the capabilities to understand their usage. I remember how my mother-in-law felt "left behind". It's a situation where we don't have access to people who can teach us, help us, make these transitions. 

But anyway, here are the things on the list that I don't use. No need to cross your fingers in hopes that they will go away.

Email Forwards
"It will be nice not to have our email filled with these kind of subject lines anymore: Re:fwd:fwd:fwd:fwd:fwd: funny"

I, too, hated these anyway. It cluttered my inbox and I would spend wasted energy reading them.
Fax Machines
"Raise your hand if you still have a fax machine? Put your hand down if you were born after 1964... we're just going to assume that very few hands came down."

We had these at school, and back in the day, that was the new way to get things quickly into the hands of someone else. It was part of the progress forward. 
Encyclopedias
"Honestly, we're not sure they even produce physical encyclopedia books anymore. Which means that most of the ones still in existence probably reside on bookshelves in the homes of Gen X and millennials' parents."

Again, part of history moving forward. I'm fearful that books are disappearing, another way to brainwash people and not read history as it was...only reading what is 'online' as the way someone wants you to see the story. Today, I do find it more accessible to get the information online. But let's not rewrite history. And yes, I do have my mother-in- law's encyclopedia set sitting on a shelf because when they moved out of state, she offered them to me. As a teacher, I hit a gold mine to have these in my home as reference. Remember, we didn't have things available with a click on a screen. PLEASE, remember history!

The Yellow Pages
"Really? We're pretty sure even baby boomers don't use those big yellow phone books anymore."

Well, article is correct. I don't see any way to place all the numbers anymore into one book like the phone book use to be. I miss it, as it was so much easier than clicking and clicking, trying to find the exact listing, and then finding ALL other kinds of information, not knowing who might be truly qualified. 

Harley Davidson
"Once a symbol of rebellion, Harley Davidson is now that really loud bike the old guy in your town drives around." It was a big deal back then, but hardly any of us rode motorcycles. Don't make it sound like we all had one. In actuality, it was only a few.
Having 2.5 Kids
"1977 marked the last time the average American family had more than two kids—barely, at 2.01. By 1978, it slipped to 1.96, and it’s never climbed past 1.95 since, quietly cementing the two-kid household as a thing of the past."  I don't blame young people for not wanting more kids than they can care for. If we look back into our history, though, when families worked the land and fed themselves properly off of that land, they needed more help to do ALL that work. It was okay for them to not have birth control. Loosen up, it was the way life was for them back then. No one is slamming you for your decisions today. 

What do Gen X and Millennials Want?

 The State of Affairs

Sometimes my heart feels saddened and deeply troubled by what I see going on around me in the world. Of course, I use to roll my eyes when my mother would say, “Things are going’ to hell in a hand basket.” She was a person who … watched a brother leave home to fight the Nazi’s in WWII and he was placed right in the thick of things for the Battle of the Bulge. She grew up during the Great Depression. They had hardly anything, and yet they had everything. They were loved. They had family who helped one another and mostly, they had faith in the good Lord; that He would provide. They had extended family living nearby, and they were surrounded by the love of that family and their community. It was a time when they relied on one another and lived in the moment. They went to the movie theater to see the introductory news clips to find out what was happening overseas.  Going to the theater was a treat, but a ‘must-do’ so they would know the news. They gathered around the radio to hear what was happening outside their bubble. My mother was a person who lost EVERYTHING in a house fire. All she had was the shirt on her back. Literally, they didn’t even have shoes on, as they played outdoors barefoot.  But they had family and community and Pappy provided what he could in the days to come as they rebuilt. All of that is a story of its own…but it leads me to today….

When I opened the computer to my home screen, there was an article that was creepy down to the core of my spine. I know that today’s generation would be rolling their eyes at me. I never thought that I would see our world deteriorate into the ideology of today; it’s unfathomable to me.

But here I go…all for nothing.

I open this “all knowing” computer screen where children can lose their innocence way too soon because they can access unthinkable things and are bombarded with ads for things that are far above where they are emotionally, desensitized by decaying values of morals on all levels. So…here I sit sounding much like my mother and my husband’s mother. I’m glad they are no longer here to see what is being shown in an instance to the world. The latest most appalling thing that I saw was a gown (if you could call it that) on the red carpet of the Grammies. I don’t think I could call it a dress, but rather nudity. The dress was attached to her nipples, then draping down to her midriff, revealing her breast not just her cleavage.

Then after being completely disgusted by the wording of the above said article (which I will address in the next Post), I decided to change direction and work with the music on my computer…to which I’m sure the above said millennials would be totally disgusted with me for wanting to have at my own disposal…my own music.  I opened iTunes and was once again blasted by things that are despicable and unacceptable:  Title of songs, names of artist and groups, horrifying graphics…. the things of nightmares. Following are a few of the headliners: Demon Hunters, The Great Satan, Megadeth, Mayhem, Liturgy of Death, Midnight Blitzy by Tailgunner (with skeletons), Engines of Demolition by Black Label Society.

I pity these young people who will be raising our next generation, as they will reap the benefits…or should I say, demise… of this type of culture. My eye fell on a title and I investigated, as it was an album titled Into Oblivion by the artist Lamb of God. Really? Here are the titles of the tracks on the album: Into Oblivion, Parasocial Christ, Sepsis, The Killing Floor, Blunt Force Blues, Bully, Devise and Destroy.

Man oh Man oh Man…. are we in trouble now. YES!

So, an introduction to address the article about what is offensive to millennials about my generation turned into a rant. The information about the article will be continued in the next blog or two because I am passionate about what I’m seeing as decay in our young people. It will not get better. I have faith that there are some great young people who will cleave to what is truly good and right in this world.

More Later…

Happy New Year!

 HAKUNA MATATA

Hakuna matata is a Swahili phrase that translates to “no worries” or “there are no problems.” It conveys a carefee attitude and encourages people not to stress about things beyond their control. This is the perfect mantra for the new year.

As we age, we are faced with more life behind us than before us. We are faced with the loss of love and life. Yet there is space for new life, new love, and new beginnings.

I began my year with a new puppy .... yes, a puppy. I forgot what new energy that brings to your world. As I let go of the past pain and disappointments, may I look forward to new discoveries and new adventures; may I celebrate my victories and all that life has taught me. 

Hakuna matata...may I worry less about things I cannot change! AND may my new puppy, Miss Dixie Belle, lead the way.

A Book Gives A Soul To The Universe ~ Plato

 Charles Franklin McNair Gave This Book to Ella Vermell King in 1902

This morning, just days before Thanksgiving, I'm feeling a deep gratitude for the people who built my foundation. It feels a bit overwhelming when I make a find that gives me pause to step back and realize the goodness of my ancestors. One such person was my Papa McNair. 

I am preparing a personal household inventory, and I have finally gotten to the old books that I brought from my mother's home. Mother (Carolita Quillin Jones) was Charles Franklin McNair’s granddaughter.  Among the several old Bibles that I documented, I came across this book. It was a book that was given to Ella King from Charles in 1902. They were married on 7 June 1903 in the Bethel Baptist Chapel in Moody, McLennan Co, Texas.   He wrote on the inside page. 

Frank McNair

To

Ella King

Anno Domini

1902

McLennon Co.

Texas. 

The feel of the cover is like no other. It is a HARDBACK copy, yet the texture has a soft satiny feel. Unfortunately, the spine of the cover has detached from the book, but fortunately the pages are all still bound together with an intricate string stitching (could serve as a lesson on old time binding).

What made this so meaningful this morning was the information that I found when I began to research this book. It was written by Ella Wheeler Wilcox and first published in January 1901 by W. B. Conkey Company. This would be the copy that Papa gave Mama back in 1902. It speaks loudly to the hopes, dreams and desires that Charles had for his marriage to Ella.

The book explores happiness, success and the meaning of life. The author has an optimistic outlook on life. Her words are inspiring and comforting as she offers practical advice on living a fulfilling and meaningful life. She encourages readers to embrace their dreams; yet she offers solace and hope to those who are struggling.

There was a new release of this book in 2014 because the "scarce antiquarian book is a work of cultural importance. The publishing company is committed to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature."

I'm proud that my people were well read and educated and placed high priority on character and morals. It can't get any better than that. Thank you, Mama and Papa.

Flying In Tandem

 

                                                        FLYING IN TANDEM
                                                                Nov 6, 2025
 

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother 

and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” – Genesis 2:24

 
Many years ago, my beloved Mother took a trip to the coast with her sister. She grew up during the Great Depression and didn’t purchase many frivolous items. Her house was not filled with clutter, just very special things, much of which were collected throughout her lifetime. On this trip, she went into a gift shop, and when she laid eyes on a sand figurine of two gulls flying in tandem, she immediately thought of me and my husband. She made the purchase and later presented this beautiful sculpture to me.  She told me that it made her think of how we live our lives, side by side, always in step with one another.
 
Some birds like geese, cranes and pelicans migrate in a V-shape formation to conserve energy, each bird slightly ahead of the other to avoid wind resistance. When one tires, another flies to the head of the formation to take the lead. Our relationship is much like these birds “flying in tandem”. We nurture one another, navigating challenges and enjoying the beauty of life together. A strong foundation of love fortifies marriage and glorifies God.  We made a commitment before God and others that we would cherish one another till death do us part. We are certainly bound by those solemn vows. Where one is, you will find the other.  
 
Mother adored the man that I married because she knew that he was raised in the same environment that I was raised. God was first, followed with the faith that Jesus gave us hope for eternal life. Through our faith, we were united and became one flesh.
 
Dear God, I pray that our young people will find the right person with which to become one flesh and form a strong faithful relationship. May they build a strong foundation to raise a family of faith, hope, and love.  Amen

Toad Hall

 

Toad Hall

Nov 3, 2010

 
Romans 8:6 “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
 
During the summer months, we have a toad that lives in a large pot underneath the leaves a potted plant. It has been fascinating to observe his daily routine. He hunts at night (evidence is left in the dog’s water bowl) in the shadows of the light, but he returns to the pot before dawn to nestle comfortably down for the day. Even upon close inspection, many times it is difficult to see him. One day while searching for this toad that was camouflaged by the soil, I realized that God knew his exact location, yet I could not see through his disguise. How many times have you met someone who seemed to be wearing a mask to hide from themselves and others? Gazing at this toad that was visible to my eyesight though I could not see him, I realized that I cannot hide from God. He knows my every move and thought. Instead of hiding, I must become one with God and lead a spirit-filled life and avoid being trapped by problems, deception and changing relationships. I must place my faith and trust in God because He will not fail me.
 
Dear Lord, Help me to walk openly and honestly with you so that I might find peace each and every day.