The Baby Boomer Who Changed the Face of Music

It's hard to believe he's gone. Michael Jackson was one baby boomer I thought was larger than life. Who cares that he was 50 years old. If he could still shake his body down to the ground, I would still watch.

I grew up with Michael and his brothers--when they were known as the Jackson 5. I first saw them on TV in 1969 when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. I then saw them in person in 1971 at the Ohio State Fair. I remember screaming hysterically along with thousands of other little girls in the crowd.

When Michael decided to go solo, it seems as though his fan base became even larger. Michael actually changed the face of music on MTV. Before the debut of his "Thriller" video, MTV was not playing music by black artists. After that debut, Michael didn't stop and we couldn't get enough.

The more popular Michael became, however, the more his life became exposed. Allegations of child molestation followed him throughout his adult life. He was called a WACKO JACKO by members of the media who, I believe, sensationalized his life beyond repair.

But you know what? I choose to remember Michael Jackson for the musical gifts he gave to his adoring fans. For the rest of you who want to continue to harp on the negative, you can just BEAT IT!

Has Easter Lost it's True Meaning?

I couldn't wait to take my two-year-old grandson to church this morning for Easter because he looked so handsome in the outfit I bought for him. I was like that with my daughter and I remember my parents were the same with me.

But is that what Easter is all about---dressing up in your newly purchased colorful spring outfits and parading yourself in front of others in God's house?

As a baby boomer I believe Easter, just like Christmas, has lost its meaning over the years as we focus more on the materialism associated with it instead of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Did you know the word “Easter” doesn’t have anything to do with the Christian celebration? It is derived from the name of a German deity, Estre or Ostra. She was the goddess of the rising sun and spring, and was celebrated in springtime festivals.

Did you also know that rabbits are an ancient pagan symbol? They represent fertility and are associated with the re-awakening of the land in springtime. Bunnies were first associated with Easter celebrations in the 1500s, and by the early 1800s, German bakers were selling Easter bunnies made from chocolate and pastry.

Eggs, which are laid by birds and from which new birds emerge, were symbols of new life and rebirth long before the Christian era began. In the early days of the church, the consumption of eggs during Lent was prohibited, so decorating them and giving them as gifts on Easter became a way of celebrating the resurrection.

The tradition of the Easter Bunny bringing gifts to children Easter morning is also from Germany, where he was known as Oschter Haws. Initially, the bunny left his treats in a nest made for him by children. Later, the tradition merged with the notion of the Easter basket.

So what do you think? Are we, as a society, obsessed with traditions that have no value?

Baby Boomer Parenting 101

Now that my baby has a baby, I am even more concerned about how I've raised her. You see, as a baby boomer mom and grandma, I now understand how much parenting, good or bad, can affect a child's life and that behavior gets passed down from generation to generation.

I bring this up because of a conversation my daughter and I had while traveling together last week. "Get into the Groove" by Madonna came on the radio. Immediately she said, "I remember you used to exercise to that song."

She was right. I used to pop in the Madonna Live tape, move the living room furniture and get my fitness groove on. I have to admit I was shocked she remembered because she couldn't have been more than 3 years old at the time. Madonna's song opened the door for other mother-daughter memories. This was her opportunity to tell me what she didn't like about me.

I learned she absolutely hated all of the times I used to visit and/or volunteer at her school. I was there so much, she said, many of her fellow students thought I worked there. She also hated how I grilled her friends about their grades, goals and yes, their parents.

Here's the point: What we say and do in front of our children and grandchildren will have a lasting impact---whether we want to believe it or not.

It may be too late to right the wrongs with your children but you can still make a positive difference with your grandchildren.

I figure it this way: If my grandson gets the benefit of seeing his mom exercise to a Beyonce video, while keeping a guarded eye on who he's hanging out with and grimacing over her taking an active role in his education, then my actions as her mother haven't been that bad after all.

A Charlie Brown Christmas Tradition Lives On

Earlier this week, A Charlie Brown Christmas came on television. Ever since my daughter was a little girl, we used to sit and watch it together---the same as I did with my parents when I was little. This year, however, my daughter was away at college so I completely forgot about that particular mother-daughter holiday tradition. (My two-year-old grandson was spending the night with his other grandparents so he wasn't available).

But while on Twitter, one of my followers, Carla Nix, announced that she was watching it with her daughter, which sparked some memories.

So in keeping with the tradition, I called my 18-year-old college freshman and we sat on the phone and watched it together. She knew the part I would cry on and we laughed together as we reminicsed about the Charlie Brown Christmases of the past. She reminded me of the crazy dances I would do during the Charlie Brown gang rehearsal scene and the times I used to call her from work when the show was on.

As a baby boomer parent, I am discovering there are some traditions that should live on no matter how old we get. Those traditions live on even unto death.

What traditions do you still celebrate with loved ones?

Baby Boomer Jesse Drama

There’s an old saying in the black community: God looks after babies and fools. Well, we know Jesse Jackson is NOT a baby……

I, just like the majority of black America, am stunned over the comments the reverend made about democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama during a conversation with a Fox & Friends guest before a live interview Sunday from Chicago. Thinking his mic was turned off, Rev Jackson whispered to a fellow panelist , "See, Barack been talking down to black people on this faith based ... I want cut his nuts off ... Barack ... he's talking down to black people."

Now Jackson claims he was reacting to the fact that he felt Obama's speeches "can come off as speaking down to black people" and that there were other important issues to be addressed in the black community, such as unemployment, the mortgage crisis and the number of blacks in prison.

Irregardless of what he was reacting to, Jackson ought to know better. First of all, he should’ve been smart enough to know anything you say can and will be used against you in front of a mic and in the media’s presence. Secondly, Jackson should be one of the last people to criticize anybody on the issues of faith and morality. Isn’t he the aging baby boomer who had an affair with a woman 20 years younger and fathered a child with her while married?

Now, to Jackson’s credit, he did issue an apology right away---even before the news media got a chance to blast it. He issued this statement:

"My appeal was for the moral content of his message to not only deal with the personal and moral responsibility of black males, but to deal with the collective moral responsibility of government and the public policy..."

There’s another saying that goes: Open mouth, insert foot---but in this case---how about a Choc Full of NUTS!

What's Menopause Got To Do With It?

I'm not 50... .
I'm 18 with 32 years old experience

I don't have hot flashes.....
I have short, private vacations in the tropics

I'm not overweight.....
I'm just big-boned

I may be a Boomer---but I'm certainly not your BABY

If I forgot what you said, could it be possible I wasn't listening?

If Viagra's all you've got---don't bother!


Beverly Mahone

Baby Boomer Selling His Life on eBay

A man in Western Australia has announced plans to sell his "life" on eBay -- an auction he says will include his home, car, other personal belongings and his job.

Ian Usher says he decided to put his life on the auction block after he split with his wife of five years. The baby boomer says the auction will include his $400,000 home, his Mazda 929,a two-week trial at his job in a rug store and an introduction to his friends. The only thing he says he isn't selling is his name.

Usher says the auction is planned to June 22 and last for seven days on eBay. He says he hopes to net at least $500,000 from the sale.

Now, I have to say I'm curious about a few things here. Did his ex just walk away without asking for a dime? Whatever happened to something called a pre-nuptial agreement? If my fellow baby boomer was so upset over the break-up of his marriage, why didn't he do everything he could to work things out? Re-creating the honeymoon magic in a place like St. Lucia could do the trick! Besides, five years isn't long enough to REALLY know each other.

My other thought here is, maybe his life really wasn't worth much beyond the material things.....so why not start anew?

You know as well as I do that there are always two sides of every story---and then there's the TRUTH. I'd love to hear his ex wife's version of this.

Oh well, if you're interested in the auction click here: A Life 4 Sale

The Beauty of Aging

I'm a Baby Boomer. That means I'm middle-aged. When I look in the mirror I see a different face with a few more wrinkles and one that looks more and more like my mother's. I see a body that could use a makeover and some much needed relief from menopause. But I also see a woman who has been abundantly blessed! I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

That’s the beauty of aging. I appreciate getting older and wiser. It has set me free. I like the person I have become.

I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here I will not waste time lamenting on the would’ve, could’ve, should’ve of my life. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)