An impression

The odor of the wet street mixes with the booze from the bar.
The propiertor shakes out a purple striped dishtowel.
It is early morning, the sun is still not up,
But the air is hot, sticky and sex.

The sidewalks are hosed down,
The street lights sparkle against the puddles.
I don’t know where I’m walking,
But I know I am home.

A GOP as VP on the Democratic ticket?

A report from the AOL.com page mentioned that Obama vetted a former Secretary of Agriculture from the Bush Jr. cabinet, Ann M. Veneman. Of course, dems are surprised and the Hillary troops are probably about to have a coronary. But, is it an actually possibility?

Probably not.

I have not found a report about this possibility on any reputable new source. The Times does not have it, neither does BBC or Al Jazeera. I also checked the not quite so reputable news sources, Huffington Post and Drudge Report and did not see anything there. So, is what AOL reporting as true? Yup, but this is Obama and his handlers playing a political game. If you can get moderate Republicans to think he would consider a GOP running mate, what else would he be flexible on? Perhaps some cabinet positions? Maybe some leeway in a tax bill? If they believe he is willing to work with them, what will they give to him? He is a consummate politician.

She won't be on the democratic ticket.

Go away already!

A link to the column that inspired this posting:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patricia-zohn/culture-zohn-boomer-girl_b_113159.html

The David Brooks' article was concise and well written. Brooks' article was about a shift in what it means to be mature and why we should consider character development when selecting a candidate. It was not a rant about Boomers, but it is interesting and revealing that you read it that way.

What is even more revealing is you take credit for writers and musicians who are not of your age demographic. All of the artists you mentioned are from either the Silent Generation or the Greatest Generation. To illustrate, Philip Roth was born in 1915, Joni Mitchell was born in 1943 and Rolling Stones birthdays run the gamut from 1941 - 1947 (and the1947 birthday is Ron Wood, not one of the originals). These are not the Boomer years, but the years of the Silent and the Greatest. If you are going to celebrate your generations' contribution to culture and society, it would behoove you to choose someone who is actually from your generation.

What most X'ers have found grating and officious about Boomers is their "ability" to see themselves as the only people who matter. I graduated high school during the Reagan recession and the only job I could find was assembly work at a sweat shop on Long Island for $3.35 an hour. Yet, every time I turned around I was referred to as a slacker, lazy and unenlightened. Also, during your watch, you pulled the plug on student loans, raised tuitions, started the "War on Drugs", ended pension plans, brought in HMOs and so on. Effectively, you had a good time at the party and left the cleaning up to us. What a hell of a legacy.

Aging gracefully is not about trying to keep yourself relevant or holding on to power or dying your hair so the gray is not showing. Aging gracefully is about knowing when to step aside and let the younger people have their 5 minutes in the light. You are not aging gracefully. Perhaps it is a lesson you really need to learn.