Donald Trump is the most famous baby boomer in the world.  And the guy's energy level is off the chart.  I know there's a magic potion involved, but it's secret. The man drinks Diet Coke constantly, but that's not it.  Don't be surprised to see a Trump energy drink once he leaves the White House.

 

A recent article in the publication "Business Insider" says many successful boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are reluctant to hang it up in the marketplace. They want to continue skipping down the yellow brick road til they drop.  There is no clear reason stated for this, but I, your boomer correspondent, know what it is.

 

Boomers are afraid to die.

 

Well, many of them.  And if they work every day, the specter of the reaper is somewhat obscured.

 

My father counted the days until he retired.  He couldn't get out of the boring accounting job he held fast enough.  Hello, cushioned chair in the family room.  That attachment lasted until he passed.

His son has been in the news business for 50 years.  On the national scene, only Brit Hume has a longer tenure.  And my ventures remain very successful.  Still throwing the fastball.  Ask Bill Maher, another boomer who is hanging tough.

 

Sorry to brag.  However, self-aggrandizement is a baby boomer trait along with self-absorption and rank selflessness.  I'm generalizing, of course, but that Woodstock generation thing did a number on my generation.  We started to feel noble protesting the old guard during Vietnam.  We changed many things, some for the worse.  In essence, the boomer culture is one of personal gratification.

 

My parents' generation was the opposite; shared pain and sacrifice because of World War II and the Great Depression.  No entitlement, few grandiose expectations. They counted themselves lucky to have the basics.

 

Boomers rejected that. So, when you spend a lifetime pursuing material stuff and personal pleasure, why end the party? As the song goes: "keep on keeping on."

 

Back to the death thing.  Few younger Americans even think about it.  But, boy, the boomers are obsessed; mostly because they see their contemporaries going down.

 

Life expectancy in the USA is now around 79, with women living longer than men, which is poetic justice.  The cliche goes, "the clock is ticking."  And it is.

 

But more so if you are wandering aimlessly around or are debilitated in some way. Those who have a daily purpose and independence can divert their minds away from doom scenarios.

 

That's a good thing because there's no need to worry about your wake.  You won't be able to see it on TikTok.  Gone, baby, gone.

 

Therefore, while you're still here, try to do some good things to make up for all the bad things.  Simple equation.  Relatively soon, it will not be all about you anymore.

 

It will be about your legacy.