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BBHQ Boomer Essays: |
| Our Boomer-In-Charge here at BBHQ, Hershel Chicowitz, writes frequently about current events... from a boomer perspective. He is sometimes funny, sometimes provocative, sometimes a little of each. We hope you get a kick out of our Boomer Essays. |
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There are several versions of "What I've Learned" flying around the
Internet. We offer a few examples of them here at BBHQ from time to
time. This week I'd like to offer some examples of what I think we will learn, as we approach maturity and recover from the hangover of our selfish youth: There is no such thing as quality time; there is only... time. Telling our kids that we used drugs when we were their age (and we all did use them, didn't we???*) is not the right way to discourage them from using drugs. Some things that some of us did in our youth... in some cases, many things... should remain untold. Our kids are always our kids; they are not our friends. Character does matter... in our president, our celebrities, our mayor, our high school principal, our friends, our family. The people we elevate to that status says a great deal about who we are. When we have no respect for our elected leaders, we have no respect for ourselves; and our entire society suffers as a result. You do not choose to be a role model. It chooses you. Paying close attention to what goes into our kids eyes and ears is just as important as paying close attention to what goes in their mouths. Some things that have no negative effect on us may affect some kids enormously. That is because we are adults and they are kids. Setting a good example is the most important thing we can do to teach our kids how to conduct their lives. Setting a good example is a thousand little things, day after day, every day. Few kids ever grow up and say, "Gee, I wish my parents had expected less of me." Kids are kids; youth is precious. We should not be in a hurry to have them grow up. Kids naturally rebel against authority; that is part of growing up. But that does not mean that we should yield to that rebellion just because it seems easier at the time. That is part of the responsibility being an adult. Raising our kids is the most important thing we will ever do. Every time we delegate some of that responsibility to a day care center, a baby sitter, a relative, a school, a computer, a television, or a government... we lose some ability to shape the content of their character. If we care about our kids, we should fervently guard and retain as much of that responsibility as we possibly can. Kids need input and guidance from both parents... a mother and a father. No government program and no amount of money can adequately compensate for the absence of a father or mother. All the gun control laws, metal detectors, warning labels, regulations, police, inspections, and curfews in the world cannot make up for a failure in parenting. Every time we ask for another law to control some aspect of our kids' lives, we are acknowledging a failure in parenting. Much as we say "you can't go back," and "things were so much simpler then," our parents' generation had a lot of the right answers to today's moral and social issues. You cannot change the past; but it is never too late to do the right thing.
*It's sarcasm, folks. NO, we did NOT all use drugs.
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Exploring My Roots: A Chicowitz History
Membership details here.
Terrific boomer memorabilia!!
Remember this?
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If you like what we're doing here at BBHQ, please help us by buying stuff through our link to Amazon.com:
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
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The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
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