What Will Millennials Do When They Retire?

We of the Silent Generation retired years ago.  And, believe it or not, there are a few codgers still left from the Greatest Generation.  None of us had ever heard of a computer or a cellphone when we were teenagers.  Television was in it's infancy.  One of the most popular ways of passing time for young people was playing cards.  College students hung out in student union buildings playing bridge. Other popular card games were pitch, euchre, poker and hearts.  Card games required you to interact face to face with live human beings.  A lot of conversation and bantering took place while you were waiting for someone to decide which card to play.

One of the things retirees miss most is seeing people every day.  For older retirees, card playing is a bridge over those troubled waters.  Some men and women in their eighties play cards five times a week.  It keeps their mind active, but more importantly, they can  make new friends and  interact with real, live people on a regular basis.  Playing cards keeps loneliness at bay .

What will Millennials do when they retire? Will they sit back in their rockers and play games on their smart phones or computers all day?  And will social media prove an adequate replacement for the friendly--and sometimes not so friendly--work relationships they took for granted? There's always television, of course, but anyone who's been bedridden for a week or so knows how boring and unfulfilling that can be.

Perhaps they think they will play endless rounds of golf or tennis.  What they can't foresee is whether their knees will hold out that long, or if cardiovascular problems will rule out any type of physical activity.  Hobbyists will enjoy their crafts, and gardeners will plant more bulbs.  But at the end of the day, it's nice to hang out with friends in a good game of cards.

WHY DIDN'T WE PROTEST?

As members of the Silent Generation,   we young women  didn’t  protest much of anything. Why not? 

There was plenty to protest:  racial inequality, sexual harassment,  income disparity for women, abortion rights, the Korean War, to name a few.  But we just sat there and took it.  I suppose there are many reasons, but I have to believe that the birth control pill  freed women from being stuck at home raising big families, feeling they might as well get married as stay single and work the rest of their lives for low wages as a nurse, secretary, store clerk, or teacher.  If you were a “good girl” and didn’t make any waves, some man would come along and rescue you from a dreary, celibate life as an “old maid.”

We’ve come a long way, Baby. Here’s a picture of my two  daughters  with some of their friends at yesterday's March For Our Lives in Washington DC.   So proud of them I could cry. I may not agree with all of their causes, but I’m happy they feel free to stand up for their beliefs,  and took the time from their incredibly busy schedules to fly to DC with the hope of creating a better world for all of  our grandchildren.