Author: Dot

My plan for this week’s blog was to tell you about my first trip ever to Florida. For the past few months, my BFF Pat and I have made plans to visit Navarre Beach for a get-away during the off season. We were to leave home last Thursday, drive halfway and check in Friday for a week in the sand and the sun.

On Wednesday, we began hearing about a blustery female named Karen, scheduled to blow into town about the time we would be arriving.  Reports were that Karen had a volatile disposition and no one knew quite what to expect of her. We began to think there might not be enough room on that small island for all of us.

We were in a maelstrom of indecision. Should we continue with our plans and risk the onslaught of her tempestuous behavior?  Emotions flooded as we looked at what promised to be a turbulent relationship with this unstable Karen.

Finally, we were advised by the owners of the condo to change our plans. Most people were leaving the island, just to avoid Karen.

We did not want to cancel our vacation all together, so we headed north to Eureka Springs. There was no whirlwind of activity to greet us… just a couple of inches of rain and a gathering of a Corvette club.

Our “plan B” has turned out wonderfully. My BFF and I were able to book the last two rooms at the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow.  The get-away has been filled with reading, writing, napping, and doing nothing.

By Sunday, Karen was stand-offish and depressed. Probably a little huffy because things worked out so well for us.

Pat called it: Serendipity.

The young adults born between 1980 and 2000 are sometimes called Gen-xers, sometimes Millennials. They are already making their mark in the world. According to the latest census, they out number Boomers by several million.

As generations before have initiated the over-use of the word “like” and “go” and “you know” (expressions that are still around) perhaps the Millennials are responsible for the over-use of “so.” You know, as in “I’m so not going to do that.” Or they go, “I’m looking so forward to that.” Or they are all like, “That is so over.”

The last comment is appropriate, because with this group has also come the electronic age and changes in the way we all live. Just recently, AARP the magazine printed a list of trends that, as the next generation matures, will be so over.

1. Driving – Gen-xers drive about 25% less that their counterparts did 8 years ago. Many who live in cities don’t even own cars. They use public transportation and rent a car for road trips.

2. Using a land line.  Most sleep with their cell phones at their side. When they move away from their parents’ home, they tend to continue to rely on the cell and never invest in a land line. This is a trend I have seen in all demographics. Why pay for two telephones?

3. Eating a drumstick. Quoting AARP, “KFC fears that Generation McNugget doesn’t understand old-school chicken with bones. The fix: buckets of boneless chicken.”

4. Buying a house. Only 18 percent of the 18-34 age group say owning their own home is majorly important to them.

5.  Keeping your salary secret. Millennials ignore the office taboo — or social taboo — of discussing salary. This was considered ill-mannered (still a word) when I was growing up. People thought if you talked about salary you were either bragging or complaining.

6. Taking care of the planet. Sadly many, many millennials do not make any personal effort to help the environment.

Despite the attention given the importance of saving for retirement or a rainy day, most of the younger generation are either not convinced or simply can’t. Median net worth of Americans under 35 is now $3662. That the value of a high-mileage used car.

So, I’ll say to our future leaders and decision makers, “Have fun.”  Just remember, there will always be a new operating system, an upgrade, a later model.  One day your favorite app will go the way of 8-track tapes. A gadget that made your life enjoyable will be so over.