Quick Takes [ Part Two ]

Yesterday we discussed in this space the epic collapse of the Boston Red Sox . Well last night there " September to Remember " , as the Associated Press called it , came to conclusion . They blew a 3-2 lead in the 9th , while Tampa Bay came back from a 7-0 deficit against the Yankees , and now Boston is homeward bound instead of playoff bound . It is said by Baseball experts that what the Red Sox managed to do , in losing , in September , is of historic proportion . They for most of the Baseball Season were a certain lock for the playoffs . No diehard Tampa Bay Rays fan , if there is such a thing , could ever imagine , even in day dream form , that they would catch the Red Sox . The Theo Epstein led team , he being the real Money Ball GM , are a little less full of themselves this morning , on Yawkey Way . Most Baseball people think that there manager , the good Baseball man , Terry Franconia , will take the heat . But the front office , who tends to think they are smarter then all others , are eating humble pie this morning . But one can't leave this story without giving true credit to maybe one of the best Basball minds in the business , Tampa Bay skipper , Joe Madden . Congratulations to him and his team for a Baseball ACOMPLISHMENT FOR THE AGES ................................................... The other great Basball mind , in fact by this writers estimation , the best of the best , Tony LaRussa , of the Cardinals , completed there historic comeback last night as well . Down 10.5 games in late August , The St. Louis Cardinals refused to quit , a credit to a La Ruusa led team . There ace Chris Carpenter , shut out the Astros last night . He was a big game pitcher , in a big game . Tied with Atlanta going into last night , the Braves could not hold a lead against the Phillies , and lost painfully in extra innings sending the Cards to the Playoffs . Last night was certainly a night for Baseball to celebrate . Perhaps one of the great nights in Baseball history . Why this is so important to Baby Boomers is because , Baseball is the game Baby Boomers were raised on , the Sixties , argueably one of the great decades for Baseball is when Baby Boomers cut there teeth on the game . This was a time when Baby Boomers , would take there transistor radio with them to bed , and fall asleep listening to there team . It was time when Baby Boomers traded Baseball cards , and discussed and played Baseball all the time . So to Baby Boomers last night in Baseball was not only exciting , but also a bit RETRO....................................... Before we go today one non -Baseball story of importance . Emily Rooney , a Baby Boomer , and a television person of note , at WGBH in Boston , ponders not only the Red Sox , but the retirement of her dad , Andy Rooney . He will sign off from , " 60 Minutes "  on Sunday . Many call him , one of a kind . Some say it is the end of a era . But this is more than a great journalist riding off in the sunset . For Mr. Rooney is the last of his kind , a  " Professional Reporter " . His era was about the story , the facts , and the business of observation . His era was about the reporting , not making themselves the issue . His colleagues , like Cronkite , Wallace , Bradley thought getting to the bottom of the story , with keen talent for the issues , were at the heart of there job . This was before , a reporter or a network deceided to take a stand in the debate . So Good Luck to Andy Rooney , may you enjoy your time with your wonderful family , and continue to notice the world around you ...............................................

Quick Takes

Like a short stack of pancakes today's column deals with a short stack of issues . Taking on multiple issues of the the day rather then theme oriented , we take into consideration what Baby Boomers are saying based on current events . For example in the world of politics , Republicans while thinking they have a good chance of winning the White House in 2012 , are having trouble finding a standard bearer . Some commentators say , the base is not happy with the field , or like a candidate for a while , then seem to lose support. First , Bachman had the hot hand , then Perry . Now some still hope Palin will run . Not to mention , that Romney an established qualified candidate still trys to get the home fires burning ............................ In Baseball , what happened to the Red Sox in September , they may still make it into the playoffs , but if they do , they will limp in . They go into the last day of the season tied with Tampa Bay for the wild card . Baby Boomers remember the Red Sox of 78 , blowing a 14 game lead and losing to the Yankees in a one game play-off courtesy of Bucky Dent . All Boston readers will recognize that name . The light hitting shortstop hit a key home run over the green monster to break Bostons heart . .................................. In golf , Bill Haas won the Fed-Ex Cup and the Tour Championship this past Sunday . He the son of Baby Boomer golfing great Jay Haas , collected 11.5 million doolars for one days work . The question to ask though is this good for golf ? Are the golf playoffs good for the sport ? Did fans follow the four tournament playoff race ? Most Baby Boomers the true fan base of golf , the ones who buy the memberships to the clubs , and buy the golf shirts and equipment , did not tune in. It is football season now , and in San Diego that means the Chargers , not Rancho Santa Fe [ outside San Diego ] resident , Phil Mickelson ............................Speaking of San Diego and the West Coast , President Obama spent the last several days there doing fundraising . He knows he is in a race , and his efforts to fill the war chest reflect what his party thinks about 2012 . To the liberal members of his party who have called for him to attack the Republicans , he showd he is in full campaign mode , commenting on the Republican debates and there candidates . He has particuliar bite for Perry , but there platform of Social Issues , is on the table . The question for the President is will voters , vote there pocket book ? Will his voting block of 2008 stay together ? Baby Boomers are glad to see him out talking in support of Social Security , but so is Romney . The Wall Street Journal looked at the Electoral Map this week and by all accounts , we are headed for a late night in November , 2012 ............ The issues that Baby Boomers also commentd on were , the Palestian question and the UN , the continued poor performance of the economy , especially the lack of job creation , and last weeks poor performance of the stock market . Baby Boomers have been trying to tell all that will listen , what happens in the other parts of the World , effects us here at home . The meaning here , if Greece defaults , or the European Union does not have a plan , it will effect your retirement portfolio . We live in a Global World ........................ Finally , a big issue is starting to emerge for Baby Boomers . It came up in some periodicals this past week . As a Baby Boomer what is your responcability when it comes to your Grand -Children ? This came to light because as parents help there children by taking care of there kids , does it limit there own life , but furthermore how much say then do they have ? Baby Boomers were disturbed to read , that a fellow Baby Boomer asked there daughter to not to have any more kids do to the amount of there Baby- Sitting -Duties . While Baby Boomers did not like the intrusion into the daughters life , they feel empathy for the Grandparents , there peers . The most common comment was , " hey wait a minute we already raised our family " . But the stress of the economic climate does add to the dynamic ................. So there you have it Baby Boomers some quick takes ........

From the Mail Bag

As Baby Boomers write in with , issues , concerns and topics for discussion , there is a somewhat confidence in there tone of telling the story . While each Baby Boomer is different , a set of summary thoughts seem to be similar from Baby Boomer to Baby Boomer . This space has tried when this occurs to cover it with a article . In fact many of the topics selected are from the amounts of mail that takes place on a particular Baby Boomer subject .......................... For example , the story titled . " Breakfast with Mom and Dad " , is a direct result of several Baby Boomers speaking to the issue of losing a parent or parents . The thoughts that came from our Generation about how difficult the bereavement process has been , is universal to Baby Boomers at this time . Another example was the story titled . " A Hero's Life " . Here Baby Boomers lamented about , how it seemed there parents and grandparents talked in such glowing terms about the people of there day , thus prompting the question , do Baby Boomers have heroes ? Then there is the ever topical discussion of politics . Baby Boomers always so engaged continue to comment on the current landscape . The opinions are all over the map. Some conservative Baby Boomers write in after every  Republican debate . Democrats write in on a regular basis about President Obama . One interesting comment came in about , who is a better communicator , the current  President , or former President Clinton . That topic was so interesting it made it on to Linkedin . This brings up another topic , Baby Boomers are trying to find there way in the world of Social Media . While we covered a while back the emergence of Baby Boomers onto Socil Media , Baby Boomers continue to stuggle with its application to there business . They love facebook for friend and family communication , but does it help the business they just started ? While the jury is still out on the question , what seems to be common place for Baby Boomers is the subject of how to maximize Social Media ? Further how can they improve in the use of the tool ? Most Baby Boomers conceed there are different roles for different tools . For example , facebook for the masses , linkedin for the classes , i.e., facebook for social contact , linkedin for business . Baby Boomers are still trying to find there way in the twitter and Google+ world .................................. A new topic that this space will take up shortly , is what some Baby Boomers call , not feeling Guilty , for the way they have conducted there life . The meaning here is that every day you open up the newspaper and there is another bad report on the economy . Unemployment plaques Baby Boomers , and veterens go homeless . But here is the rub , for a percentage of the Baby Boomer population , this does not apply . For some Baby Boomers there career went well , there home is paid , and they do not suffer from credit card debt . These are the Baby Boomers who want there story told . They are the faces of the wealth mangement ads , and the Baby Boomers who list travel as the number one priority........................... So as we move forward covering the issues of the Baby Boom Generation , this writer continues to be proud to be a spokesperson for his Generation , and write about the the things that resonate with our Generation , Baby Boomers...........................................................Thank You for Reading, .... Rick Bava

Baby Boomers Supply Feedback

 One of the most interesting developments of the blog , Rick Bava on the Baby Boom Generation has been the amount of feedback that has taken place . Once a story gets posted , it is then shared via Social Media as to the content . Sometimes a news source will also tell of the topic being discussed . From there Baby Boomers will read and react . For example something like , " Baby Boomers Remember the Family Vacation " , a highly read article , Baby Boomers will often share and reflect upon there own experiences , by e-mailing , Rick Bava . Sometimes on a more serious topic such as Social Security , or elderly care for parents , it is not un-common to see posts on facebook or linkedin , about the topic . As in the case where the story content deals with a company like in the article , " Baby Boomers return to Starbucks " , comments and observations make it onto that companies Social Media , or Web page .............. But in the end , the reader will simply e-mail , Rick Bava , which is indeed welcomed . Baby Boomers as it has been indicated , read this blog on a regular basis . As one Baby Boomer put it recently , writing on facebook , " it is nice to have a place for Baby Boomers to go , that speaks to the topics we are interested in , and for which we identify " ............................ Baby Boomers report that they usually look for the recent topic , if they are a regular reader , but will often go through the listing of stories to make sure they have not missed anything. Sometimes upon making a recommendation for other Baby Boomers to read , they will mention the breadth of topics , that are up on the blog for exploration .It is safe to say the responce to this blog for Baby Boomers is far beyond what was originally thought . What started out as a place to report on interviews with Baby Boomers across America , has evolved into , a regular column for Baby Boomers to take part in , read , learn , and see that they are feeling things at this stage of life , similar to other Baby Boomers................................ To all Baby Boomers who continue to read this blog on and for Baby Boomers , Thank You for the positive feedback , and Thank You for taking the time to read.........................................Regards , Rick Bava of , Rick Bava on the Baby Boom Generation