Write Team: Baby Boomers have seen some changes

“Baby Boomers” refers to those born between 1946 and 1964. Currently, we are the second-largest demographic in the U.S. Boomers are the longest-living generation so far in history, and we have seen many changes.

For example:

• I did not have a curling iron when I was a teen. I rolled my damp hair onto brush rollers, pushed a pink, plastic poke through and sat under a hairdryer that had an elasticized bonnet around my head.
• The kitchen phone in my parents’ house had a long cord, and we would stretch that as far as possible so as to talk with some privacy. Long distance phone calls cost more money. I used a pay phone at the high school if I needed to call my parents for a ride home. Our present household still has a landline, but it is cordless, which is quite convenient.
• We get up early, eat early and go to bed early. We eat whenever we want now, and those times are getting earlier and earlier. We like to use coupons and early bird specials. If you call our landline after 9 p.m. (the cellphones are already turned off), I will answer with, “What’s wrong?” Just ask my kids.
• We don’t like going out after 7 p.m. It’s dark.
• Paper maps were essential to us even if refolding them was hard. I like using Google Maps and Waze on my phone, but if I am heading somewhere unfamiliar, I still look up the directions and write them down.
• We learned to type on manual typewriters. When you got to the end of the row, a bell would chime and you knew to slap that handle so the machine would move down. Most of us have transitioned pretty well to laptops, tablets and cellphones, although some memes and text abbreviations might be confusing. Before you laugh, remember that we can read and write in a secret code: cursive handwriting.
• We still send mail through the post office. Texts and emails are handy, but nothing compares to opening an envelope and reading an actual card with a handwritten note.
• Our social media accounts are flooded with pictures of our grandkids, the mountains we saw on vacation and what we had for dinner. We also ask for recommendations of good orthopedic surgeons.
• We like to be prepared when we go places. I carry Band-Aids, glasses wipes, mints, chapstick, a pen and ibuprofen in my belt bag, which used to be called a fanny pack. There is a folded Kleenex in my pocket. We always bring snacks in case we don’t get dinner until after 5.
• We like tchotchkes and collectibles. Many of us are downsizing, but it’s hard to get rid of grandma’s embroidered pillowcases and our childhood birthday cards, which are now considered vintage.
• We once wore bell-bottom jeans and earth shoes; now we wear stretchy yoga pants and slip-on Skechers.

Boomers are aging, and some of our perspectives have changed. Staying home and going to bed early were childhood punishments. Now, that sounds wonderful.

Just don’t call after 9.

Karen Roth is a semiretired librarian/educator living in Ottawa. She can be reached at dbarichello@shawmedia.com.