Are you in the silent generation? Shhhh!

 

Some younger people assume I am a baby boomer—among those who were born between 1945 and 1964, Well, no, I am part of the “Silent Generation,” just before that. Shhh!

 

Boomers were part of the huge population that came after World War II, when the consumer economy rebounded and the country was full of confidence. They were a rebellious lot, whose parents may have been influenced by Dr. Benjamin Spock, who told them in 1946 that they should be more lenient with their children.

 

In my generation it was “Children should be seen and not heard.”

Do what you are told. Don’t make waves. Shhh!

 

Yes, I belong with the Silents, even though I went to the tumultuous UC Berkeley. I don’t remember many rebellious students, just about all in my generation, when I attended from 1959 to 1963. But there were some radicals on the Daily Californian student newspaper, where I was an editor. We went with other students to the San Francisco City Hall on May 14, 1960 to view a House Committee On Un-American Activities hearing. When we couldn’t get in, things got out of control. The students rioted and the police washed them down the stairs with fire hoses. The event is now considered the start of the Bay Area protest movement. What did I do when I couldn’t get in? I went to the ball game.

 

By contrast, my sister, a baby boomer, went to Berkeley five years after I did, in the wake of the Free Speech Movement era of 1964-65. Attending class while helicopters dropped tear gas, she considered herself a radical and still does.

 

They might as well call my generation the Lost Generation. Especially when it comes to music. The Greatest Generation, those born before us up to 1928, had big band music. You can find that on most music channels. The boomers have the Beatles and hard rock. Other than Frank Sinatra, there is barely a hint anywhere of early 1950s music. I’m talking about Perry Como, Doris Day, Patti Page and Andy Williams. Not that I miss it.

 

While 1960s icons are still celebrated, how many people remember these individuals and terms? King Farouk, James Dean, the Ink Spots, Bobby Sox, the 38^th parallel, the Green Door, 77 Sunset Strip, Hernando’s Hideaway, Anthony Armstrong-Jones, “daddy-o,” coonskin caps, Crusader Rabbit, Estes Kefauver, Grace Kelly, The Drifters. Oh, except the Drifters were here Friday night at The Prizery!

 

So I can’t help it if you don’t hear a lot from me, or if I am not taking to the streets for change, ir is my Silent Generation coming through. Shhh!