Published September 2, 2024

I was thinking about “Have you never been mellow” for a headline, and I got sidetracked.

My brain, which is in a fog amid illness and sleep deprivation and major depression, and more than a hint of betrayal, somehow wandered off to thinking about the generation wars online and elsewhere, and generation identification in general.

Maybe it seems that I have ruined the lives of people, or disappointed them, because of the generation they’re from and the generation I’m from, but I promise I didn’t mean it. “She had so much potential” is my likely epitaph, and we know what that means when people say it.

Anyway, I was still playing with headline ideas when I saw this.

“Most of the music I love the most is boomer music.” I don’t think in those terms. I don’t think I ever will. It fascinates me, though.

We all want to identify with something or someone, I think. Even the too cool for school. If it’s not a generation, maybe it’s the people from that generation who don’t identify as being from that generation.

“I’m from such-and-such county” is another. Or “we live in such-and-such parish.” A long time ago, I was from Calcasieu Parish, but I don’t think I ever said that. Whether I lived in Caddo Parish or East Baton Rouge Parish or Yamhill County or Clark County, I never thought in those terms. But then again, I’m a city girl. Though, to real city folks, I’m a country bumpkin.

I also don’t think in terms of being a baby boomer, which I am. And I avoid the online generation wars as much as I can. Perhaps that’s privilege speaking. Or a luxury. I don’t know. I’m told I am a member of the coastal elite (West Coast, not Gulf Coast, but I’ve been both, and both have great food and coffee).

Anyway, it’s all fascinating to me. And truly, if there were an official designation for it, I would say all the time that I’m from Generation Mellow.

Time scale comparing the differences between generations: Baby boomers, Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z. Image by iStock/Tanaonte.