What Are Kids Coming to These Days?

Mood: Optimistic (I try to stay this way)

My generation's parents said it, too: what are kids coming to these days?

One of my classmates, a mother of several children, recently quoted the same line. That's OK, but her credibility was in questions since she partied hearty in her day. Oops, I forgot to remember to forget about that.

My guess is that Generation Y is doing pretty good. If you ask me, they're a lot of more focused, have a deeper appreciation for family, since many come from broken homes and are learning that when push comes to shove, the most important element is the family unit, as dysfunctional and nuts as that unit can be at times.

Generation Y sees the mistakes my generation made, but they have this intrinsic knowledge that says not all the wrongs are going to be made right in the single sweep of social reform. They're focused on long term solutions, working at short term goals to make the bigger picture work. Okay, so Y-er's don't have the luxury of opulent album cover art like it was back in the Day ("Led Zeppelin," "Morrison Hotel," "Sgt. Pepper's") but they're savvy enough to appreciate digitally remastered classic albums with bonus tracks and have thousands of them crammed into the plastic confines of an MP3 player or IPod.

I like this group of young people. They're on a long road, have a tremendous journey in front of them and for the most part know where they're going. It's good they know where they've come from, too.

Thought for the day:

"Get Rhythm, when you get the blues,
come on, get rhythm,
When you get the blues. . . .
"Get a rock and roll feelin' in your bones,
get tapes on your toes and get goin'. . . .
"Get Rhythm, when you get the blues"

Johnny Cash, 1956, B-side of Sun Records single, "I Walk The Line"
Okay, not a very spiritual thought I guess, but it beats the heck out of simmering over past hurts and how frustrated you are over the price of $3.00 a gallon gasoline