Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be moving to a foreign country to live, let alone a country in the Middle East. Over the 2009 Christmas and New Year’s holidays, my husband Roger and I discussed what we wanted the next part of our life to be like. He thought that before retiring, he would like to do one more airport project but only if he could find something very interesting. I half-jokingly agreed that would be fine but could he try for an exotic location? As usual, Roger came through and soon we were headed to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. This blog is a recap of our "leap-of- faith" wanderings around the Middle East and beyond. We joyfully share these expat experiences.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Blogging Boomer Carnival #263


This week we review books for boomers, mourn the loss of a very special farm, enjoy my trip to Oman and have quiz to see if you are really a boomer. But the REAL bonus is a poem . . . Boomers in the Land that Made You and Me . . .. if you are a boomer - don't miss it!  

What is the Blogging Boomer Carnival?

Carnival night rideA blog carnival is a special kind of blog community.
There are many kinds of blogs, and they contain articles on several different topics.  Blog carnivals typically collect links pointing to blog articles on a particular topic.  A blog carnival is like a special interest magazine.  It has a title, a topic that flows through its postings, editors, contributors, and an focused audience. Editions of the carnival typically come out on a regular basis, like every Monday.
The Blogging Boomers Carnival is a collection of like-minded blogs cooperating to expose their best stories of interest to theBaby Boomer Generation.  To our knowledge, the Blogging Boomers Carnival is the only oldest, now in its fifth year and best boomer-centric carnival. 
New Books: Laura Lee Carter aka The Midlife Crisis Queen has been reading up on the history of "midlife" in American social history. Check out her review of the book, "IN OUR PRIME" entitled: "Is This What My Prime Is Supposed To Look Like?"
Also, check out the free ebook, "Books for Boomers" or the low-cost ebook "Boomer Retirement Life Tips." 
What happens when we lose our small family farms?  The Accidental Locavore mourns the loss of a very special farm.
Tom Sightings is on vacation this week.  While he's away at play, he invites you to try out his quiz (if you haven't already):   Are You a Baby Boomer
ChevyBoomers in the Land that Made You and Me 
Long ago and far away, in a land that time forgot,
Before the days of Dylan , or the dawn of Camelot.
There lived a race of innocents, and they were you and me,

For Ike was in the White House in that land where we were born,
Where navels were for oranges, and Peyton Place was porn.

We longed for love and romance, and waited for our Prince,
Eddie Fisher married Liz, and no one's seen him since.

We danced to 'Little Darlin,' and sang to 'Stagger Lee'
And cried for Buddy Holly in the land that made me, me.

YoungjohnOnly girls wore earrings then, and 3 was one too many,
And only boys wore flat-top cuts and worked to earn a penny.

And only in our wildest dreams did we expect to see
A boy named George with Lipstick, in the land that made me, me.

Girls fell for Frankie Avalon, Annette was oh, so nice,
And when they made a movie, they never made it twice.

We didn't have a Star Trek Five, or Psycho Two and Three,
Or Rocky-Rambo Twenty in the land that made me, me.

Miss Kitty had a heart of gold, and Chester had a limp,
And Reagan was a Democrat whose co-star was a chimp.

We had a Mr. Wizard, but not a Mr. T,
And Oprah couldn't talk yet, in the land that made me, me.
Jayne mansfieldWe had our share of heroes, we never thought they'd go,
At least not Bobby Darin, Jayne Mansfield or Marilyn Monroe.

For youth was still eternal, and life was yet to be,
And Elvis was forever in the land that made me, me.

We'd never seen the rock band that was Grateful to be Dead,
And Airplanes weren't named Jefferson and Zeppelins were not Led.

And Beatles lived in gardens then and Monkees lived in trees,
Madonna was Mary in the land that made me, me.

We'd never heard of microwaves, or telephones in cars,
And babies might be bottle-fed, but they were not grown in jars.

And pumping iron got wrinkles out and 'gay' meant fancy-free,
And dorms were never co-Ed in the land that made me, me.

We hadn't seen enough of jets to talk about the lag,
And microchips were what was left at the bottom of the bag.

And hardware was a box of nails and bytes came from a bee,
And rocket ships were fiction in the land that made me, me.

1949 Buick convertibleBuicks came with portholes, and side shows came with freaks,
And bathing suits came big enough to cover both your cheeks.

And Coke came just in bottles, and skirts below the knee,
And Castro came to power near the land that made me, me.

We had no Crest with Fluoride, we had no Hill Street Blues,
We had no patterned pantyhose or Lipton herbal tea
Or prime-time ads for those dysfunction's in the land that made me, me.

Drive-InThere were no golden arches, no Perrier to chill,
And fish were not called Wanda, and cats were not called Bill

And middle-aged was 35 and old was forty-three,
And ancient were our parents in the land that made me, me.

But all things have a season or so we've heard them say,
And now instead of Maybelline we swear by Retin-A.
They send us invitations to join AARP,
We've come a long way, baby, from the land that made me, me.

So now we face a brave new world in slightly larger jeans,
And wonder why they're using smaller print in magazines.
Mac HatAnd we tell our children's children of the way it used to be,
Long ago and far away in the land that made me, me.

Author unknown

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for this special poem. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading it.

    ReplyDelete