The summer is upon us, baseball is in full swing and political discourse is ever present.
Families get together for barbeques, the people of Boston live by every Red Sox game, and the midterm elections seem right around the corner. Meanwhile, Facebook is trying to get back on course and restore its mission, the news media outlets are following the president’s Twitter Feed, and CBS’s "60 Minutes" runs a feature on how much Google knows about you.
The technology just makes one feel rushed; the constant drum beat of information just makes you tired. Many baby boomers across the country look for the meaning in all of this.
Maybe that is why two friends, one a retired professor from Oregon, and the other a boomer from California continue to seek refuge in their own antidotes to the world around them and us.
Every week since they left college in the 1970's, they have found a way to have their special weekly call. Sure, over the years they have had to miss a week or two — but, for the most part, they have stuck steadfastly with their game plan.
This is not because they feel an obligation to call each other, but rather because they really want to — and this is what makes the calls all that more special.
In the earlier years of their ritual, the calls were about their first jobs after graduating college, then later topics often centered on the girls they met and married, and more recently there was the call when one friend told the other that he was going to retire.
All in all, these two baby boomer friends started their weekly discussions about the life and times during the Carter administration. They are still at it today during the Trump presidency.
Much like "Shields and Brooks" of "The PBS Newshour," these two boomers have mastered the art of conversation.
Yes, both of these baby boomers are intelligent people, and yes, both possess wonderful communication skills enhancing their dialogue. But most importantly, these weekly calls are just about two best friends sharing their lives with one another — sharing about the things that are most meaningful to them, and participating in the type of conversation making one feel that having a best friend is a very good thing.
Most baby boomers would tell you that they enjoyed their college days. One reason that so many of those born between 1946 and 19064 look back on their college days in such a positive light is that many important relationships tended to be formed during that period of their lives.
Baby boomers who later reconnect with old college friends on Facebook often find themselves reminiscing nostalgically about those days in the dorm when they studied together, and spent time talking about what their life ahead might be like and all that they hoped to accomplish. These days, boomers tend to be reflective; for the most part, they don't live in the past — but they do like to recall the past.
Baby boomers, perhaps more than most people from other generations, can truly use history as a guiding light for the future.
Many Baby boomers wonder what lies ahead. They wonder about health concerns, financial wellbeing, and whatever other things are personally the most important to them. Many baby boomers have concluded that the people around them hold the key.
The baby boomer in California and the baby boomer in Oregon in this story are prioritizing an important friendship in their lives. These friends reflect what many others of their generation are now turning their focus to — the idea that it is important to make time for what will be ultimately be the most meaningful and rewarding for your life: family, friends, and of course the special feeling that goes with being lucky enough to be married to the person, you love.
Rick Bava founded and was CEO of the Bava Group, which became the premier communications consulting firm serving the Fortune 500 community. Bava became known for his popular blog columns "Rick Bava on the Baby Boomer Generation." He is the author of "In Search of the Baby Boomer Generation." For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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