Generation Jones

I am not a fan of labels and have never really felt part of any labeled group, even ones I’ve paid to join. I guess it's human nature to try to find a group of folks to identify with, and by default other groups are "not us." This makes us feel safe from the scary things, or something. The modern mania to categorize people is, imo, mostly a marketing tactic to help advertise more strategically. I try to ignore labels, although some years ago it was brought to my attention that I am part of “Generation Jones,” which is apparently a cohort between Boomers and Generation X. I forgot about this until the other weekend when a group of friends began discussing it. 

If you were born between 1954 and 1965, like me, you may also be part of Generation Jones, especially if you don’t feel a connection to the Baby Boomers or to the younger folks in Gen X. Cultural commentator Jonathan Pontell coined the term “to describe a group with a unique set of cultural and economic experiences.” The name refers to “jonesing” (craving) and “keeping up with the Joneses,” as we supposedly yearn for the affluence of the Boomers and lament our unfulfilled promises. Many of us were "latchkey kids," coming home to empty houses when our mothers returned to work. We existed in the gap between Beatlemania and Nirvana, subsisting on punk rock, MTV, and Star Wars. Woodstock wasn't our thing, but we do recall Watergate and gas lines. We're more pessimistic and cynical than both Boomers and X'ers. 

Blah blah blah. Some of these items resonate with me (latchkey), and some don't (Star Wars). A lot of it is simply personal taste ~ I don't really like punk rock; I love the Doors and the Stones, which my dad listened to as well. I even love Sinatra and Elvis. What does that imply about which group I should be stuffed into? Nothing. I attribute my lack of wealth to a divorce, not to any mysterious cultural forces. I do feel somewhat unfulfilled as far as a career, but that was entirely my own fault, or not even "fault." I needed more time to process certain emotional issues in my teens and 20s and could not leap onto the college to career train at the optimal moment. As far as being pessimistic and cynical, I have no way to objectively judge if I am more or less so than people of different generations. Sometimes writers just make shit up because they have to get an article in by a deadline or want to say something edgy for attention. Not saying this is that. I don't know.

Anyway. I had a great lunch at Belmont Brewing Company in Long Beach the other day and learned that "flatbread" can be like a pizza! I had no idea; I've always ignored flatbreads on the menu due to the term itself sounding unappealing. Flat bread. Who wants that? But I ordered a veggie one due to curiosity plus nothing else struck my fancy, and it was absolutely delicious. I could only eat half, and the leftovers were yummy too. 

This weekend I binge-watched 11.22.63, the Netflix miniseries based on the Stephen King novel. I had never read the book, but I vaguely knew it was about a teacher traveling back in time to try to stop the JFK assassination. James Franco starred as Jake Epping and did a great job. I did have some problems with logistics; for example, at one point Jake's mentor told him that if Jake returned to the current year, everything he had changed in the past would be undone and go back to "normal." But then the movie ignored that whole concept, and Jake did return, twice, and that didn't happen. There were a couple other glitches as well, plus at various points the story became tedious and overly complicated. Like why not just kill Oswald or prevent him from leaving his house on that date? Instead, they (Jake plus his sidekick who was also in on the plan) dove into this whole mishmash about trying to see if Oswald was working for someone else, rented a place near him to spy on him, got involved with other characters, etc. In any case, the current day turns out worse if JFK lives, so that was interesting, and I would have liked to have heard more about it. The novel is considered one of King's best, blending science fiction and historical fiction, so I may have to add it to my ever-growing TBR pile.