A month away 'til the big move from my mountain nest in California to the birding flyway of mid Florida. My move is the sum total of my boomer generation's search for meaning and purpose in life, as well as the current economic crisis.
I was feeling bad about having spent the money I made on the sale of my Marin home back in 2oo2 until recently, but that has changed with the advent of the current economic crisis.
Some might consider me foolish, but I have lived well though frugally, working part time and looking for that meaningful life path that would add another dimension to my spouse-and-child-free life, some things I'd never meant to be but am now. I've written the rough draft of a novel and a screenplay. I've traveled to Alamos, Sonora, Mexico founded in 1682 while still a Spanish colony, and the Discovery Islands of British Columbia where orcas come to feed on disappearing salmon. These are parts of North America I'd never been to before. Modest trips compared to excursions I dream of taking to the Great Pyramids or the Taj Mahal, yet just as satisfying.
I did not lose my money in the downturn.
Well that is not exactly true. My IRA, a little cached cash in that estimable banking institution, Wells Fargo, lost over 60% of it's value in just the past 2 years. So I did not remain untouched.
I am the perfect product of my generation, the ultimate baby boomer: I can whine with the best of them. And I will have to work until I die, so it's good I've found a way to change with the times.
For some others perspectives on boomers and the present see:
Boomers Going Bust from the Washington Post
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