1919

Just picture all those silly 45-51 million some odd impressionable Americans that were blindly naïve. I’m talking about the ones born in between 1954’s played down incident in Viet Nam at Dien Bien Phủ & the Korean conflict, as compared to JFK’s 1961 looks are everything, crooked vision of us all living in his new frontier of Camelot. Enjoying their upbringing with bright presumptions as the first true all rock-and-roll generation; as noted by Wikipedia “recorded in April 1954” The popularity and worldwide scope of rock music resulted in a powerful impact on society. Rock and roll influenced daily life, fashion, attitudes and language in a way few other social developments have equaled.

The term Rock and Roll was originally to describe a ship rollicking at sea since has come to mean a more or less fringe movement with wicked, (1922 slang definition of “rock” was something to the effect of “to cause to move with musical rhythm”-bluntly it was used to slander the Blacks bands, and flappers rocking, and rolling it was their euphemism for ‘enthusiastic sex’ rocks suggestive lyrics were some peoples first exposure to sex) rowdy and disorderly connotations site Google- “like to share a drink, like to share a laugh, and like-wise endear each other with a smoke”, the art of living is by pairing off with one another, and living well.

Sweet Jane

Rock 'n' Roll-Hunter/Reed 1974 you tube

Jenny said, when she was just five years old You know there's nothin' happening at all Every time she put on the radio There was nothin' goin' down at all Not at all

One fine mornin', she puts on a New York station And she couldn't believe what she heard at all She started dancin' to that fine-fine-fine-fine music Ooohhh, her life was saved by rock 'n' roll Hey baby, rock 'n' roll

                                 Despite all the amputation

                       You could dance to a rock 'n' roll station

It was all right-It was all right-

Throughout my teens to early 20’s there was us vs. them. We were the good guys, but we didn’t know exactly who they were.

There two other groups among those who rocked in our society that were even more firmly divided into two distinct camps. Either you were in the garage underground-or a studio performance Frampton commercialized vulture-norms, or turned to the alternatives. Hey babe, chill, I grew up to become the so, called “Generation Jonesers” classic case study. I have all the traits, I am cynically misunderstood. I present you the definitive me-me-me of the “Generation-Jonesers” I sing the blues-

Well, I know where I’m going, wondering where I am. Yeah, know where I’m going “what it is, to the max, like ya know, cool can you dig it in your face- narc you out, totally awesome, ya’ know what I mean, for sure-for sure”-I know where I’m going…wonder what that was…and what the f*** happened… with the 2016 elections we’ll take of this and, we’ll take care of that”- every body’s in it for themselves- what are they going to do to me today, and anyway what am I going to do about it now-when no one can tell what the hell the truth is or, what’s real anymore.

We distracted our sorrows, and doubts that came from Kennedy 63 assassinations long out horse drawn funeral procession with Saturday morning cartoons. The laughs were canceled, so we masked our tears with Alice Cooper spider eyes on our rider-less mount. Had our Halloween celebrations, watched Gilligan’s Island, and the Newly Wed Game, for news we asked; “What’s up Doc”.

The online research I made on my pampered b**** generation goes as follows;

Our whole generation had high youthful aspirations. From living on the comforting remains of the 60’s highest standards attained off the coat tails our Grandparents generation. They saw it all when they were growing up from horses to autos, prohibition, Hooverville’s and FDR. Our Grandparents were victims tough enough to survive during the great depression. They won THE WAR! We all respected them with our admired compassion.

On the home front there was be-bop rationing for those whose motto was “they also serve who sit and, wait” while Rosie the Riveter chanted  We didn’t know it at the time, but we were go on to follow their seasoned shadowed past.

The economy was booming along in 65 when an ongoing war was hesitantly up scaled. We came of age during withdrawal from Viet Nam the oil crisis and, stagflation, Mickey Mouse dressed in drag in becoming our Bugs Bunny, and Hugh Heffner’s Playboy Bunnies turned into Linda Lovelace, and Marilyn Chamber’s porno flicks, while Anita Bryant promoted Save Our Children to teach her children biblical morality, just when the AIDS epidemic broke out. There were Hari Krishna’s begging at airports, Kent States troopers using student for targets, and Bikers selling meth to strippers. While cocaine was being snorted-up out of dirty $100 bills, curtsey of Columbian drug wars. 18 year olds got the right to vote, the draft ended, and drinking age was lowered, so we drank-up as we blasted the Doors “the war is over’ to our “The Unknown Soldiers”.  

We were caught in the process of retooling our society. Our culture was chipping away from traditional values with a guarded   apprehensive optimism. We were concerned, but had too much to choose from. All these outside forces were influencing us were too much at one time for us to understand. All this stuff hit us at once, so we became lost in our conflict confused emotions. We had mixed feelings, and stirring attitudes. This after having made the sudden realization that our future was for an existence in an over-crowded, nutty, crumbling world that may be slowly dying; led to an outbreak of our not knowing what to think, say, or do.

We were at a loss for a decision, so we took acid, and read underground commixes. My Mom once asked me when I was tripping hard (we got along great when I was tripping, but she knew something was up) are you OK” “Yes, No, I don’t know.” Went to our own; the high school clique I became a part of have been a dependable tight knit group despite our falling outs bitter memories. As we matured we have grown going to our separate ways, and having different interests. We understand, and are aware of the problems accepting one another’s limitations and skills, and have been friends for almost 50 years, a lifetime achievement. Over the scores of years we always manage to connect. In dark times we go to these confidants who do the all, which is everything they can; unburdened they console; “yeah-I’ve been there”. You pick your friends you don’t choose your family. One member expertly constructed, my one of a kind custom made oak coffee table it, and places all my stuff conveniently on it with in my easy reach he doesn’t remember-Manson didn’t get it.

It was the previous generation on whose laurels we rode. Their protests that paved our way, we learned about life in the real world from them.

My Mom wanted my Sister, and I to have kids. I recall late in my life, later than most, when at 29. I moved away to go live with an out of state woman that I had kept in contact with since college. It was my 59 year old Moms idea of dream life in paradise. “You’ll have it all” she praised me; Wife, kids, family, because that’s what my Mom had wanted for herself. She believed that was how it should be, the right way to live. She paid for my honeymoon.

(I moved across the country to a place where I had never been, had no friends, or family, broke after a hostile takeover of the business I worked for round of personal cuts. I was still learning a trade. When people asked me why I said “for, love-”

This was after we exchanged both long romantic letters and sweaty long distance phone calls at all hours. She had had money, but since her mental husband didn’t work by the time we became involved she was broke. I ended up working 2 jobs and fixing things around house she boosted me up with noting “you put such care in everything you do.” She had 2 young boys at the height of their Oedipus complex they were troubled vandalizing the house. I was miserable there had a job with toxic chemicals, so I turned to drink. She cut off sex I returned home broke, over $25,000 in debt and desperate I moved back in with to live at my Mothers. I was 36-

She told me “you’ve had a lot of problems, but, you always land on your feet-”)

My Mom was more than a Mom she did her best at being loving, caring Mother, and impersonation of a Father. My Father was an OK-guy, in a guy’s world. He was a horrible husband, and a lousy Father. -this was common among my peers. The parents, too, you see, were blocking out the worries of the world-my family was disrupted, but not dysfunctional because it worked, it was one of love. Some of my peer’s parents were so lost in their drive for success, in maintaining their needed reputation, and getting the necessary credentials. That any indiscretion within the family would ruin their reputation, so it was perceived by traditional morals as a jinx child that should have been aborted.

My Uncle G. who I in admiration, and respect let him know that since I didn’t have a real father he was my male role model, and impossible to live up to, he responded humbly “I’m no big deal. I envy you. You do what you want. I wanted to go to Europe but my wife didn’t. I missed out on lots of things.”

So, my Mom pressured us to “be normal”. “All you kids wanna do is smoke pot-You don’t believe in God-You don’t go to church”. While the old lady that was my next door neighbor lady who had empty liquor bottles laid all around her house, and whiskey on her breath. That was in her prime then aged through the hardest of times. Had been through enough, and had the wisdom of more experience, so she could have been my Moms Mom: demanded me to “play the Preacher song- “you can’t petition the lord with prayer”. We smoked pot religiously, surely she smelt it.

As I saw the future of the world I didn’t want to bring another child into this mess.

It was more depressing than not knowing where your next meal was coming from. I had the common feeling of being an unwanted drain, yet wanting to be part of the crowd. Our situation gave us the stupidity of a MAD magazines “what me worry” mindset; emotionally, and spiritually. We would crank up our Kenwood’s for, a point, and purpose; blast the music to drown out our uneasy thoughts. This led us to live in a dream world of our own making. The instant over commercialized entertainment isolated us in soap opera games shows of reality drove us each to our own form of personal insanity, (-crazy-huh-) led to frustrations of the generation’s genius.

The millions of rebellious 60’s hipsters, and civil rights protesters demonstrations did a “fine job”, but there was blow back the surrogates were us- The bastard sell outs spent our peace dividend. Backlash-

On line described us as; “pessimistic”, “bitter”, “distrustful of government”, and with a “general cynicism”

Time Life as “listless, apathetical, dull witted”

Both of my parents were born the year the great depression started. After 2 tries at divorce, my Mother took the final stroke on her divorce papers. Her main reason was the only man she had ever slept with, and by traditional customs felt obligated to be hooked up to then wed for life drank. (When he came back from his decent paying, but hard menial job until he threw up) my Dad was a care free, and-less teenage boy was from her high school days. He came from a wealthy mining family that pampered him they gambled away their fortune on mines, poker games, and stocks. So, he was totally unprepared to raise a family, and kept on seeing other women. My Sister had collected rocks on her trips with Dads Mom, and early high hopes to become a Geologist. He got drunk again to deal with the pressure, and threatened to hit the 8 year old. “No one’s going to hit my kids”, so it was 12 years of interrupted ego contests over finance, and responsibilities.

As a 4 year old boy in 1960 my poorly educated Mom got divorced from a man my Mom describes as a lying, cheating lush who was fun to be with because he spent all his money on him; (and his drinking buddies.) She had trained her whole life to be a stay at home Mom. She wanted a simple quiet life for herself, and a comfortable one for her 2 planned kids. She was too proud to fail at marriage, or to go on welfare, she was afraid people would know just how poor we were, so she bought fancy clothes. Because she had years of marital problems she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown,

The sexual revolutions founder Wilhelm Reich- German: 24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) wrote The Sexual Revolution (1936) a cohort of Freud he passed out birth control devises in the 30’s. This led to the full swinging French teenagers of his day. Who fit right in with the hippy declaration “free love,” The exaggerated slams about their love-ins group sex came because traditional moral values were being challenged with persuasive arguments. These short changed their human nature one still gets attached to another one to one. Homosexuals were coming out of the closet with their communities in San Francisco Castro area, and there was fear of women’s new sexual freedom.

This was nothing new it just deepened the gossipy parallel meaning to America’s 1967 infidelity rate of 30-60% in marriage, while divorces stood at 5.3% 1970, there is no scale for loving relationships.

All this adds up to my Mom, she was totally unprepared to make a living, yet she pioneered woman’s rights by divorcing she also looked down on “kept women”, and had sex with married men. Then she bravely got a job, and went to work where she faced sexual discrimination, and harassment in pay as well as from the women that ‘put out’ sexual favors. The three of us ended up moving in with my Moms parents.

My older Sister had expensive health problems with her teeth, and vision. Her being subjected to all the ongoing martial fight’s, and arguments regardless of her welfare and her goals disappointed along with her nightmare home life led to great emotional swings, and sever mental distress. She was dubbed one of those “problem child’s’. She, as the eldest was given responsibly “look after your Brother”, and did her best to keep the house in order, and was drained of energy as she walked to school exhausted. She tried in vain not to think about her problems while attending, but returned home enraged. Sassed back answered with you intentionally defined me, so she ran away, and lived with a man at 17

“You can’t teach a hungry child” *Lady Bird Johnson

Some consider the M-T-M show the voice of an onslaught of divorces. All In the Family loosened the attitudes concerning interracial marriage, and was the first to have a toilet flush. TV comedy satires-police shows on from Dragnet to Miami Vice.  

When JFK, LBJ to Regan years, which started just about the time Walter Cronkite retired only served to bait our dreams, “and that’s the way it is;” was elected I wanted to travel, maybe on, and on. I went to Europe learning their ways. Europeans are much more liberal, and sophisticated, maybe mature, in their attitude about sex. A couple living together before a marriage is accepted. Public displays of affection are a way of life. People make physical contact when conversing. Cultural trends seem to start in the old world east traveling, and making progress when they arrive in the west…. Let me give you a hi-fi, I’ll shake some skin.

Note my family had money up until I was born, and I lived in one of the lowest paying cities in the country. Upon maturing there was a mass exodus by my peers, friends, and family to live and, work somewhere else. There was a revival of the My Little Runaway song many just went on road trips away from the rust belts cold.