Worthless hippies...

[Bruce Kershaw]

I see plenty of young people that make me very hopeful for our future.  I think they are better than we were at that age.  I'm at the end of the baby boom at 53, and my generation was a definite step down from my father's ... but I think the young people today have "the stuff".

Lets hope so... They sure are going to have a harder go at it than we did. (I'm 51) Most kids in college right now are being trained to fill a non-existant job market. I wouldn't want to be facing that with a big student loan hanging over my head.

It's also easy for me to look at my 17 yr old nephew and say, "When your dad and I were your age, we had already been working for a couple years, had bought our own cars, and were paying for our own insurance, etc." Not so easy to do these days, when we of the grab-whatever-I-can-get-for-myself generation are fighting over the minimum wage jobs just to keep from loosing that too-big house.

(Maybe it's not this bad in other parts of the country???)

but do geeks have a "lets make the world better" philosopy?

I don't know... At this point I'd like to go back to a time when you grew your own food and raised your own meat.

If a "better world" is one where someone else takes care of everything, we're in big trouble.

Auto worker... retired military... It's not what they told you it was going to be, is it?

You're on your own, Baby!

[Greg Luckett]

I don't know ... I live in a Navy town, and I've got to tell you, I see plenty of young people that make me very hopeful for our future.  I think they are better than we were at that age.  I'm at the end of the baby boom at 53, and my generation was a definite step down from my father's ... but I think the young people today have "the stuff". 

My first reaction was to say, this is not so, because the media kept hyping the worst things of our generation.  I do believe this is the case, but to equal our parents' generation would take a HUGE stepping up to the plate that our generation did not do, nor has any since.  Our generation was the one that fought and won the Cold War.  Actually this is probably more like a relay race between generations.  I like the kids today a lot better than the kids of the 70s and 80s, but I did not dislike most of them either.  We must be very, very careful of the "media" and "political" types of  stereotyping of groups.  For instance, I do not for a second believe the hippies were worthless, even though thier philosophy is very different from mine or most of my generations.  We grew up at war, spent most of our lives at war, and learned to "duck and cover" while in grade school.  All through my junior high, high school, and into college, Vietnam was raging, and despite the dislike of the military by nearly everyone I knew, I went into the Navy to do my part, to take my turn, as did hundreds of thousands of others.  I am glad my generation did not need to do the WW2.

[Greg Luckett]

I had intended to post a bit more but there seems to be a limit on how much I can post in a reply.  Is this so, or is something else happening? :-\

I wanted to say how proud I am of today's kids and that they face very real challenges.  It is almost in their hands now to solve the world's problems as best they can, and I think they are both capable and ready to do so.

[Frank Hagan]

There is some kind of limit on the posts, but I don't think you hit it!  Its pretty big.

[Konrad]

Greg...

You're in St. Jo, MO...?

Has that always been in your avatar?

I'm just 2 hours north of you in Lincoln.

(Total thread drift, but since I started the thread, I think I'm entitled..)

Konrad

[Greg Luckett]

No, St.Jo., Michigan, sorry.

I have not always had this avatar but have been using it for years now.  I do not recall when it last changed.  May I inquire why you asked?

Hijacking your own thread may be against the rules....or not? ;D

Greg...

You're in St. Jo, MO...?

Has that always been in your avatar?

I'm just 2 hours north of you in Lincoln.

(Total thread drift, but since I started the thread, I think I'm entitled..)

Konrad

[Konrad]

For some reason, I took the "MI" to mean Missouri, not Michigan.

(Because logic dictates that Missouri should be "MO", right?  Um, no..)

I'm a dope..

[Ken_Potts]

  I thought Michigan was abbreviated "MO"...  No wait, it's Mississippi...  Massachusetts?  ;D

[Konrad]

"MO" is "Moron" abbreviated.

Or is it "Massively Obvious"..>?

Like I said:  I'm a dope. 

[Craig]

With 44 years active duty and civil service behind me; and as a member of the baby boom leading edge at 62, I can assue you K-Rad isn't old enough for Hippies!  He is correct however in that our young people are not being taught our true national history.  That statement based on my two sons course requirements at Fla State and Univ of North Fla.  The hippies are not running loose in the streets protesting, they got smart and co-opted the edcuation system from K through PHD.  Remember the old saw that those who can do...  ( Not true as a blanket statement; but to an extent true).  IMHO it is not the quality of the recent generations or the intent of their parents to see that they are well edcuated, but a total lack of intregity in  our edcuation system.  Too much feel good BS and insufficient RRR ,truthful history, social studies ,and civics courses in how countries really work.  I can remember being bored stiff when the pace of our instruction lagged.  All the kids today get is directed to the lowest common demoninater and social welfare feel good nonsence. Is it any wonder they tune out and drift off to something the seems more interesting?  

Anyone but me remember the Beatnics?

[Oyster]

I always knew that you were of that generation, the Beatnik one that is.

For me,,,,,,,,,I was a love child. ;D

[Greg Luckett]

Maynard G. Crebbs

[Ken_Potts]

  No matter how you look at it, kids these days are a bunch of worthless no-good layabouts what with their knee-length skirts and bathtub gin and folding automobiles and such.

    Back in my day we knew how to show respect for our elders - With the exception of that rude Mr Lincoln, of course (if they'd a counted the Florida vote right he'd never have been president in the first place, dad-gummit).

  Next thing you know these whippersnappers are gonna be tellin' us we can fly around in outer space and walk on other worlds - sheesh!

[Craig]

Ah yes, Manyard G...... 8) 8) 8)

[Konrad]

Damn you kids and your Pacman video games...  >

;D    ;D 

[kormorant2]

Gentlemen, just remember that D-Day would have not been possible if not for a boat builder from New Orleans. Andrew Johnson Higgens designed and built the landing craft used out of mahogany and plywood. He also built the famous PT boats that decimated the Japanese Navy in the Pacific. I just had to tie it all into boat building again.

[Greg Luckett]

Man! I thought this thread had died a natural death  ;D.

Good way to tie it back in!

Those old PT boats were used on Galveston Bay while I was growing up as Crew Boats for the offshore rigs. When they would crank up those engines there was a resounding roar heard for miles.  I wish I had one of them.  Sometime before I was in high school, they shifted to helocopters and shut down the boat base. We would sneek in, it was fenced, to catch tarrantulas and just look around.  I think it might have been a Nike Missle base too before that, as the launch pads were still there.  They had that dock so well fenced and high that we never seriously tried getting out on it.  This was in the 60s.

Gentlemen, just remember that D-Day would have not been possible if not for a boat builder from New Orleans. Andrew Johnson Higgens designed and built the landing craft used out of mahogany and plywood. He also built the famous PT boats that decimated the Japanese Navy in the Pacific. I just had to tie it all into boat building again.