generations

First the boomers were nudged from the media spotlight by millennials, the largest and most diverse generation. And who can argue that our adult children have made an indelible imprint on how we live, work and play.

Part of the promise of the American Dream is that each generation will do better than the last. Has that happened with our adult children, the millennials? Well, “yes and no,” reports the U.S. Census Bureau. Our children are better educated as a generation, yet more are living in poverty and they have lower rates of employment.

Today we honor Marian McQuade of West Virginia. In the 1970s, McQuade worked tirelessly to educate people about the important contributions of older Americans, and she urged Americans to “adopt a grandparent” and enjoy the benefit of their wisdom and experience. She even convinced governors, Congress and then President Jimmy Carter to set aside a day each year to celebrate this special group of people.

So it seems that boomers and the Generation X that followed them believe a traditional retirement, the kind where you clock out of the job permanently at age 65 to travel, play golf, visit the grandkids or relocate to a sunnier destination, isn't in their future.  Yet Millennials, the oldest among them in their mid 30s, are much more hopeful. They predict they'll retire at or before they reach their mid 60s, according to a survey released Wednesday by the nonprofit TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies .

A friend who supervises interns recently complained about a young man she gave an assignment to one morning. When she passed his desk a few hours later, he was surfing the Web. His explanation: assignment complete so he was taking a break. Argh!

A friend recently shared some news: His youngest child, a successful professional, was getting married in September, finally. Did he approve of the nuptials? "She's 32," he answered in a deadpan manner. "I'm just happy she's getting married." While the boomer father liked his future son-in-law, the young couple had been living together for a few years. Dad had expected them to get married a lot sooner. What were they waiting for?

George Takei understands the evolution of his popularity. As Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek TV series, he made fans of his own generation and they "raised their kids right" to form the next generation of Trekkies. Now, having made himself something of a social media rock star, Takei reaches all demographics.

[ View the story "Invasion of the Facebook Snatchers?" on Storify]

"Are you sure?" I asked my uncle. I looked around the basement and waited for the catch.

You may not be surprised to hear this, but while 18- to 29-year-olds are split about 50-50 on texting their parents (versus calling), three-quarters of their parents would rather talk on the phone than send texts back and forth.