Boomers and Bankruptcy

Yesterday it occurred to me that my generation has seen it all. Sure, there are some who have managed to live in a vacuum, but most of us have been there, done - or watched that.

There was a radio commercial on the other morning. I write radio commercials now, so I pay extra close attention. It was for a jewelry shop. And they said "If you give her a pearl necklace, maybe she'll give you one."

I was absolutely HORKED that a jewelry store would sink THAT low to get attention. I wonder if the twenty somethings find it shocking or even interesting; to me, it was cheap and ... wow, yeah, maybe a little offensive. I'm a Grandma - but I'm not the traditional Gram. I've dated everything from wise guys to Greek Orthodox priests. I hang out in biker bars because I can't handle pretense or BULLSHI*.

My mind is so open it's nearly impossible to offend or shock me.

But this commercial did. I guess if it were for an adult toy store, it wouldn't bug me; but I expect better of the folks who sell gold and diamonds.

I guess that's what led me to thinking that our generation is the only one that has seen it all. (Our parents' generation had more grace, integrity and class.)

Good luck trying to shock us. Like the interview Diane Sawyer conducted with Grace Slick some years back. Grace said being who she is made it nearly impossible for her daughter to shock her. But she did - by being mega-straight and buttoned up:-)

It was a hilalrious interview. Diane Sawyer asked "what's the strangest thing about being 60" and Grace said "nobody wants to *uck me any more." I was about on the floor.

Which brings me to age and appearances.

I'm organizer of a few meetup groups and I'll call this one member Karen. We did not hit it off. We sort of gave each other a once over and could sense some tension. Two strong, opinionated females.

She's a beautiful blonde - tall, mid-30s, smart, married - an attorney. I was impressed. She was everything I wasn't. At that time I had just landed here after losing everything to my long battle with Lyme Disease. I was alone, older, unemployed and afraid - living on Bran Chex and apples - selling websites to survive.

I think my bankruptcy was finalized around the time we met. I was ashamed, embarrassed ... but yeah, relieved.

This was a writers meetup and our personal lives come out in the writings. A new member came in and made a comment about "people who file for bankruptcy are losers who bring it on themselves" - and Karen went nuclear. Not immediately, but in our next meeting. She wrote a piece that tore the woman apart limb by limb.

Turns out Karen had just set off in the bankruptcy boat. Her causes were optimism and business deals ... and it was much worse than I thought. We compared notes on selling our jewelry. I told her about taking my prize diamond and putting it on my little granddaughters finger (thinking "too bad about your luck") before shipping it off to an ecstatic eBay buyer.

But I have come out the other side. I am finally at the point where I can take advantage of the lease option offered by my landlord and lock in a land contract. I asked Karen if she would be my attorney, maybe we could trade. I'd do a website for her. And I apologized for being that broke. And she understood because she is just as broke.

She said I give her hope that she can come out the other side.

I told her we're the leading edge of the people who have fallen. As we get back on our feet, there are opportunities to take the burdens off others. This condo is a financial dead weight on my landlord and he made me a deal I would be nuts to refuse. We both believe God brought us together - I was desperate for a place to live and he was desperate for a tenant who would actually pay as promised.

Sure, the condo may blow away in the next hurricane; but the whole thing is little more than I'd be paying for rent. And I love it. It has a wonderful vibe.

Having been one of the first to "go down" in this economy, all I can say is that others are falling like dominoes and opportunities to land on your feet - or even better off than you were in the first place DO exist.

My condo is not my beautiful riverfront Victorian in Michigan; but it costs far less and is smack dab in the middle of a tropical paradise. It's within 5 miles of two of the best beaches in Florida.

My new job pays less than half of what I made at the time my illness struck, but I am now basically without debt. Math-wise, I'm better off where I am today.

I love the people I work with and never dreamed I would have such an exciting job ... at this age. At any age. This week I got an office - walls, a door and everything. I haven't had better than a cubicle in 15 years.

I asked what color I could paint it and the boss said "anything you want." (It will look like an opium den by the time I'd done:-)

I am truly blessed. I appreciate everything and everyone in my life.

Some mornings I get down on hands and knees with my forehead on the floor and thank God.

I'm sure Karen's experience will be very much the same.