"Out to the Island"

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Years ago while growing up on L.I. many of us Baby Boomers had grandparents living in one of the five boroughs. My grandmother lived in Brooklyn, on Grattan Street. She lived in a building with six railroad flats. Hers was on the third floor, right side. On the second floor, left side lived my great-grandparents and great-uncle. My great-grandparents owned the building. The other apartments were occupied by tenants who were near-relatives, all having roots in the same "old country", Lithuania.

Sometimes Grandma would visit us. She would come "out to the island" for the weekend. Her trip would start on Friday afternoon with a subway ride to East New York where she would transfer to the LIRR. The railroad delivered her practically to our doorstep since we lived half a block from the station.

After shopping and game playing with us on Saturday, going to Mass and and having an early dinner with the family on Sunday, my father would drive her back to Brooklyn. We couldn't wait for her next visit and always asked when she would be coming back.

March 17

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I'm not a celebrant of St. Patrick's Day anymore. The kids are grown, so no more corned beef dinners or fresh loaves of soda bread. Many of us L.I. Baby Boomers though, have St. Patrick's Day Parade memories from our youth that always come back on the day.

Living in the shadow of Manhattan gave many of us the opportunity to attend the parade, first marched in 1762 by Irish soldiers who were part of the English military here in the British colony. The parade as we know it has grown to a cultural event that makes us all honorary Irishmen (Irishpersons?) on March 17.

The holiday originated in Ireland to honor the man credited with bringing Christianity to the Irish people. So much for the meaning of the day. For many of us teenage Baby Boomers attending the parade and drinking beer in the Blarney Stone was a right of passage. Throwing up on the LIRR as we headed for home at the end of the day was a sure sign of a successful outing.

I'm Back with Bruce

A bit about our fellow Baby Boomer, Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen... born in 1949, his father was a bus driver and his mother a legal secretary. He was raised not far from LI, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. His most recent gig, and the inspiration for this post, was performing with his cohorts, the E Street Band, at Super Bowl XLIII.

Bad enough he grew up as a "middle child", but his two siblings were both sisters! To add to his misery, his parents maliciously enrolled him in parochial school (can you feel the pain?). Eventually transferring to public school did not resolve Bruce's conflicts with educational systems, aka authority (again - anyone identifying?).

Despite all these impediments, or maybe because of them, Bruce emerged as the wonder that he is.

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1946 - 1964

Image via Wikipedia You've heard the term Baby Boomer countless times, and if you consider yourself as one among that group do you realize what actually makes you a member? Well, simply put a Baby Boomer is one who was born anywhere from 1946 through 1964. Many of us were the result of our brave fathers, and some braver mothers, who were fortunate enough to return home, at first from WWII and later from the Korean War, to well deserved veteran's benefits and growing suburbs, both of which provided ideal conditions for a good family life.

Check out this site created by The Boomer Initiative to find out what was going on in the US the year you, or a Boomer you know, was born.

Food as a Muse

Image by Kevin via Flickr Who would have thought the inspiration for my first post on a blog about being a Baby Boomer would come while shopping at Pathmark? But it did - in the form of a half-price promotion. My jaw dropped as I saw Hydrox cookie packages piled high! Hydrox! Missing from grocery stores for five years! Back for all to enjoy, for a limited time (or so they say) in celebration of the cookie's 100th birthday.

As a kid, in the Oreo vs. Hydrox debate I always defended the Hydrox. My own kids grew up in a Hydrox household, very few Oreos were seen around our kitchen cupboard. This week when I brought a package of Hydrox into the office, the debate was reignited. It gave everyone an excuse to take a few back to their desks and enjoy with their coffee. I had mine with milk.

For those of you who believe the Hydox was a copy of the Oreo - YOU'RE WRONG!! Hydrox debuted in 1908 while the Oreo didn't come along until1912.

For further reading on this fantastic turn of events and how it all came about take a look at The Hydrox Cookie Page. And don't forget to cast your vote in the poll below.

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