This is also very, very true.
DISASTER Matt Bracken: Baby Boomers Better Beware
- Thread starter TFergeson
- Start date
This is also very, very true.
et2
TB Fanatic
Hognutz
TB Fanatic
Mitch McConell and Pelosi, etc…Yea I see your point.
Countrymouse
Country exile in the city
Looks like my grandparents' home and family pics.
I talk with people in their teens and 20s and this is what most see. They hear about how everything is messed up. Then when they do ask questions they get mocked or called lazy. Some really don't care what the older generations think. They just look around and see how screwed up it is, just to be told to suck it up. Some of the older generations have no clue what the world is like today and still think it is like when they came of age in the 60s 70s or 80s
I will say that the new GenZ people entering adulthood are some of the most smartest and technology savvy people I have met. Most are very hard workers, but are all about working smarter not harder. They don't put up with verbal or physical abuse. When they ask questions they are trying to understand the job and not trying to be a smartass. Depending on the response from the boss GenZ may quit on the spot. Of course then starts the nobody wants to work anymore and loyalty is dead..No, people don't want to work in abusive environments, and for low pay. Paying a person $10.00/hour is not doing them a favor. Yes, I have heard this recently.
Greatgrandad
Veteran Member
Yea. That's grandad and grandmother with dad. After grandad suffered some health issues and moved, he let dad take over the place in 1946. Over the next three years, a couple of us were even born there. Imagine many young people today living in such simple homes to start life and a family?
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Maybe, but the shear volume and rate of what I would send their way would seriously change hearts and minds. That's without prep, if it was going bad slower, I could bring the (real) M249 home from the shop with several belts in cans for some real fun.
Knighttemplar
Veteran Member
The problem is larger starter homes and 25 mil illegals taking up units.
MountainBiker
Veteran Member
I personally have not encountered hostility towards me as a Boomer but am not surprised to read what Bracken wrote. I think a big part of the issue is that Boomers have made it much harder for young people to get a starter home. I bought my starter home for about 2X my earnings. Now a similar starter home (or less of a home if truth be told) runs about 6X the average person's income. How did we make it harder? Increasingly onerous zoning & environmental and construction regulations that limit supply and raise construction costs. Further, a piece of that is those zoning regs & regulations have limited the supply of apartments so that many young folks are paying 50% of their income for rent. Hard to save much under those circumstances. I live in a rural/small town area in VT and it is all but impossible for young families to buy even what most of us here would consider a starter home. Affluent Boomers from the metro NYC buy up most of the better properties that come on the market which drives up prices, and in turns pushes locals to drive up the prices of what's left. The young families in their 20's & 30's simply can't compete economically.
KFhunter
Has No Life - Lives on TB
and that was AFTER you had to go out and spin the antenna around for better reception
TURN IT LEFT!
TOO FAR!
TURN IT RIGHT….MORE MORE TOO FAR!
TURN IT LEFT!
ARE YOU TURNING IT??!!
TURN IT MORE, NO THE OTHER WAY!!
TURN IT! TOO MUCH DAMMIT!
subnet
Boot
So basically democrats did it, for the most part.
subnet
Boot
Raise your left arm while touching it..
Perfect!! Dont move!
MountainBiker
Veteran Member
On Bracken's point about how vulnerable elders are living by themselves, I agree, but will add that I see everyone living in urban/suburban areas as vulnerable. Take down the grid and most will quickly be out of water and they won't have working toilets. The parcels their homes are on are sufficiently tiny that even if they have a veggie garden or a fruit tree or two, it isn't going to feed them for long. Urban/suburban folks are almost totally dependent upon society being fully functional. I'm not saying that rural folks would have it easy in a collapse, but they will fare far better than those in cities & suburbs, no matter their age.
Old Greek
Veteran Member
Agree - I worked on average 60 hours a week for the last 40 years. Only just recently did I cut back to around 30-35
and I will be 73 in April. Now I was self employed since 1993 and do not consider what I do as work. So that helps. I still love it. Way too many of todays kids want a new car/truck/house right away.
Way to many spoiled kids ( not all )
undead
Veteran Member
what does age have to do with anything?
Old Greek
Veteran Member
My 1st home was 936 square feet - for 6 of us! Me at age 28, wife at 26 and 4 kids 1,3,4 and 5 yrs old.
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Old Greek
Veteran Member
Agree - I am a contractor also. I live 20 miles north of Pittsburgh, Pa. I routinely refuse to bid on any work in the city of Pittsburgh because of their crazy codes, permit costs and inspection process, etc, etc........ The Electrician I use also recently started turning down all work in the city.
The last big job I did in the city was for $280,000.00. The drawings and inspection / permit costs were over $25,000.00
You now need a permit to "replace" windows and/or doors or reshingle a roof. Nuts!
West
Senior
And what engineers I guess dont understand is that mandated liability, labor laws, regulations, taxes etc.. also weigh heavy on the mining, logging, manufacturing, fabrication, wholesalers, etc.. cost too! All stuff needed to build a home.
All those things add up. Besides just us contractors mandated liabilities, regulations, etc..cost to build a home.
Collectively and including cost to stay compliant, uhg... adds about 1/2 the cost to build a modest ranch home in subdivision.
My father bought 20 acres and built a 3 bed two bath ranch home for $60k in 1968 near Folsom lake California.
I just did a top of the line mechanical system in a small commercial project for close to that.
MountainBiker
Veteran Member
And all that crap has driven up costs and limited supply which is why even starter homes as we understand starter homes from our younger years are beyond a huge swath of today's young families. A side piece to this is that the regulatory environment is such that childcare has become unaffordable, and often simply not available. My daughter-in-law left the workforce when she had a baby on account childcare would have taken almost her entire paycheck. They already had a house, but for those who have children before buying a house, childcare costs will add to the difficulty in saving up for a house. A few years back in my State they significantly increased the requirements to be licensed as a child care provider, and overnight 1/3 of the childcare slots were lost. Then the folks that wrote the new regs wondered why there was a childcare availability crisis. The folks that push increasingly stringent zoning & environmental and construction regs similarly don't seem to grasp the extent to which they have driven up costs and limited supply.
Old Greek
Veteran Member
Agree - one of the things that drives me crazy is inspectors not knowing or never having built anything.
The older guys came out of the trades. A lot of young new ones just read books. Again - not all.
Plain Jane
Just Plain Jane
I think that having zero bound Treasuries for over a decade has contributed to the problem. That's never been done before and it has created bubbles in both housing and stocks.
In short, the young people can't afford the assets and the Boomers couldn't get returns on savings. It's pitting the generations against each other.
Obama Care has also raised the costs of health care for everyone and really put a burden on Medicare and Medicaid.
In short, the young people can't afford the assets and the Boomers couldn't get returns on savings. It's pitting the generations against each other.
Obama Care has also raised the costs of health care for everyone and really put a burden on Medicare and Medicaid.
West
Senior
Now days its often engineers and architects who make bank with enforcing government regulations by compliance.
So I understand the bias.
ETA, I'm guilty too. I use too do mandated energy and electrical load calculations for clients building homes or buildings. And even today the cost to sell and handle refrigerants is vary profitable. BECAUSE of government mandated regulations!
So I understand the bias.
ETA, I'm guilty too. I use too do mandated energy and electrical load calculations for clients building homes or buildings. And even today the cost to sell and handle refrigerants is vary profitable. BECAUSE of government mandated regulations!
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Milkweed Host
Veteran Member
Some of us old farts are missing some filters, not me of course.
It's not a good idea to confront old people that grew up with
guns, sometimes slept with their guns and just want to be left alone.......
Not a smart idea to kick a hornets nest as bad things happen.
Some people become really happy to hear the sound of gunfire as it
brings back some old days...........
Some twenty years ago, a 911 dispatched said that I was mean-spirited.....???
Another dispatcher, twice my size said he was afraid of me, which I can't understand
since I'm a really nice guy..................
Again, it's a hornet's nest, just walk away or around it. ..........
those people that see old people as an easy mark, I don't think that healthy..
It's not a good idea to confront old people that grew up with
guns, sometimes slept with their guns and just want to be left alone.......
Not a smart idea to kick a hornets nest as bad things happen.
Some people become really happy to hear the sound of gunfire as it
brings back some old days...........
Some twenty years ago, a 911 dispatched said that I was mean-spirited.....???
Another dispatcher, twice my size said he was afraid of me, which I can't understand
since I'm a really nice guy..................
Again, it's a hornet's nest, just walk away or around it. ..........
those people that see old people as an easy mark, I don't think that healthy..
While I don't disagree with your post, I can tell you we saw plenty of young men who we WOULD have been doing them a favor to pay them 10 bucks an hour! Unless you've owned your own business and needed to hire help, you have NO clue how ineffective, dangerous and costly some employees can be.
Summerthyme
MikeBracken
Contributing Member
Kind of off-topic, but Matt is convinced that Trump is insane for what he's done and is doing to Iran. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm close. I'm a boomer too, and I'm hearing a lot people blaming us boomers for all their problems. I'm like others here who hate it that younger folks (by default) blame an older generation of people for all their problems. That's just lazy finger-pointing, IMHO. I'm just about ready to punch anyone in the face that uses the phrase "OK, Boomer".
How about taking control of your own life and quit blaming others?
How about taking control of your own life and quit blaming others?
KFhunter
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Trump is a boomer
MikeBracken
Contributing Member
Yep.
jward
passin' thru
Well I miss the "target date" for being in the new "target group" by a couple years---- wonder if that will matter to this groups' collection of radicalized kray-kray karens when they get the marching order to move against us. 
Overall, I can't get past the obvious and hamfisted attempts to socially engineer us into intergenerational conflict long enough to dig thru the pile of excrement to find the grain or two of legitimate argument that may be found buried beneath the offal :: shrug ::
I thought we were the group who prided ourselves on our intellectual riches, and couldn't be lead around by nose rings like fat stoopid sheep into whatever chutes the PTB wanted to move us?
Overall, I can't get past the obvious and hamfisted attempts to socially engineer us into intergenerational conflict long enough to dig thru the pile of excrement to find the grain or two of legitimate argument that may be found buried beneath the offal :: shrug ::
I thought we were the group who prided ourselves on our intellectual riches, and couldn't be lead around by nose rings like fat stoopid sheep into whatever chutes the PTB wanted to move us?
Groucho
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Lemme see.....
worked like hell to get into college. Those who didn't got drafted, sent to Viet Nam and got killed. I knew two of them
Those who flunked out of college got drafted, sent to Viet Nam and some got killed. I knew one of them
I wound up in Vietnam. Knew some friends who were killed. I'm on disability due to problems with being in Vietnam.
Got home, got married and our first place was a 10' wide trailer in SE Ohio. We upgraded a year later to a 12' wide trailer.
Finally could get a 2-bedroom house made from concrete blocks in SE Ohio. Man, we were in tall cotton. Living large.
On and on it goes, taking care of dying parents, working and working, having kids and working harder.
Finally after 42 years of work, we retired. kids grown. They each have fabulous jobs because they know how to work smart.
Now, some bunch of punks are going to call me out? I don't think so. I still remember the old ways from my service days. You bone heads better know what "fire for fire" means.
GET OFF OF MY LAWN, PUNKS.
Bunch of worthless cry babies.
I'll drop you worthless sh*ts like a bad habit.
worked like hell to get into college. Those who didn't got drafted, sent to Viet Nam and got killed. I knew two of them
Those who flunked out of college got drafted, sent to Viet Nam and some got killed. I knew one of them
I wound up in Vietnam. Knew some friends who were killed. I'm on disability due to problems with being in Vietnam.
Got home, got married and our first place was a 10' wide trailer in SE Ohio. We upgraded a year later to a 12' wide trailer.
Finally could get a 2-bedroom house made from concrete blocks in SE Ohio. Man, we were in tall cotton. Living large.
On and on it goes, taking care of dying parents, working and working, having kids and working harder.
Finally after 42 years of work, we retired. kids grown. They each have fabulous jobs because they know how to work smart.
Now, some bunch of punks are going to call me out? I don't think so. I still remember the old ways from my service days. You bone heads better know what "fire for fire" means.
GET OFF OF MY LAWN, PUNKS.
Bunch of worthless cry babies.
I'll drop you worthless sh*ts like a bad habit.
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Yep. We just got back from enjoying Easter with our kids and grandkids. DD lives in a very nice "McMansion"... 2900 feet (not counting attic and basement, both of which are finished..the basement is a nice woodshop, with a 3D printer among other creative goodies) on 2 acres
It was built in a neighborhood of half million dollar homes, and will absolutely be a target in a Mad Max situation.
But the thing is...it's essentially worthless in a grid down situation. Fully electric, not defendable, and while they buy beef, chicken and pork from us...half a cow, a whole hog and 25, 6# chickens...AND grow a small garden, its simply not sustainable. Granted, they have 5 laying hens (6 until a hawk took one out in December), they are fully dependent on purchased feed.
What they do have is *skills*. All our kids are technically "xennials"
________________________________________________
Kids born between 1977 and 1983 are referred to as Xennials, a micro-generation bridging Generation X and Millennials. Often called the "Oregon Trail Generation," they are unique for having an analog childhood (no internet/social media) and a digital adulthood, experiencing both worlds. They are considered tech-adaptive, resilient, and the bridge between two generations.
Key Characteristics of Xennials (1977–1983):
Analog Childhood: Spent early years with cassette tapes, landline phones, handwritten letters, and television schedules.
Digital Adulthood: Hit by the internet boom and smartphone adoption in their early 20s.
Cultural Cusp: Experienced the "Wild West" era of social media but remember life before it.
Outlook: Known for a blend of Gen X cynicism and Millennial optimism, often feeling in-between the two.
Technology: They did not grow up with technology, but had to adapt to it quickly.
They are sometimes referred to as the Star Wars Generation or Generation Catalano. They are sometimes called "Zenials," although that term often includes those born up to 1985.
_______________________________________
They grew up working hard on our small dairy farm, we on,y had a TeeVee sporadically...my parents would "donate" one to us. We got three channels...mostly. When it died, no one cared enough to spend scarce money to replace it. So, 2 or 3 years later, soneone would feel sorry for our "deprivation" and donate another tv. Which would more or less be ignored, unless something like the first Gulf War was being broadcast, or the Kentucky Derby I loved to watch.
They started working for others by the time they were 12...we once "lent" the two oldest boys (11 and 12 at the time) to the sale committee for our breed of cattle having a State consignment sale. They were there to wash and clip cows, clean stalls, run errands..whatever was needed.
When hubby and I showed up at the sale, we were accosted by an older gentleman, who demanded pen and paper from me. I was thinking he forgot basic supplies to take notes about cattle he might want to buy, and was digging in my purse to try and provide what he needed, when he stopped me.
He said, laughing..."I just wanted to write a letter of recommendation for those two boys of yours! They've accomplished more than any five of our grown men, and they've been personable, responsive and willing. We NEED young men like that!"
Our daughter's first job was helping in the butcher department of our local Supermarket. I remember her coming out from the interview, crying her eyes out. I was ready to console her when I discovered she'd been hired immediately when they heard her last name and learned she'd been raised on a farm!
None of them have ever been unemployed. Second son is on his second week off, before starting a new job (project manager for a major engineering firm). He quit his last job last month, as they were abusing his hard working good nature. The last straw was when a very accomplished old timer retired, and they gave DS his entire job... on top of the one he was already doing. Yes, they gave him a 20% raise...which was still 6 figures below what the old timer was being paid. He found a better job in 2 weeks.
They all worked their way through college (the two who wanted the "name" degree went to State schools for 3 years, then transferred and got the diploma from the "fancy" college). One bought a duplex which needed some TLC. He renovated the entire thing, and paid off the mortgage with the rent from the other half. It was paid off in 14 years. One bought a HUD house, and (admittedly, with some cash help from his Boomer inlaws) renovated it, and had it paid off, along with chunk of land outside town, when the city house burned.
Our DD and her husband bought a starter house (new, relatively cheap subdivision) for $95k just past the year 2000. They paid it off in 15 years, and now live in the previously mentioned McMansion..except it's built 10x better than most, because SIL hounded the contractor about code violations and shoddy work until the guy quit..so DSIL took over the project as the main contractor...and it got done right.
Oldest son rented for at least 15 years. Then he bought a rural property with three friends...they put up the cash, he built a 3 bedroom "cabin" (hardwood floors, granite countertops!)...and he also bought a 1950s ranch house.
Yes, they all take vacations, and eat out occasionally...but they prioritized savings, and also taking jobs that provide excellent retirement supplementation.
They did this with almost NO financial help from us...we simply didn't have anything extra. They did "shop" in my preps if they needed, and we let them charge parts and stuff they needed for their cars on our account in town. But 10 years later, when the government screwed us on the milk price to the point the farm price for milk cost the farmer $2 for every 100# (12 gallons) he sold...one of our sons went to the auto parts store and quietly paid the entire bill.
I think people need to stop with the labels. And boy, do they need to talk and LISTEN more! We talked with our kids...no, we didn't burden them with the details of how hard it was at times! But we told them that we were rich in what counted, and we taught them to be grateful for the land, and what it was able to provide for us. Other kids got "Fruit RollUps" in their lunches. Our kids did, too...but ours were made from wild blackberries and strawberries!
The other points are valid, too...I grew up in a 1200 sq ft house..just 4 of us. Hubby grew up in an 1864 farm house with 4 sisters...no heat in the upstairs bedrooms. No TV. No wifi.
It was a very different world. I can't imagine what it might be like when my grandchildren are having kids!
Summerthyme
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Ractivist
Pride comes before the fall.....Pride month ended.
It's obvious to me, they are scared of us boomers, and need to make our children hate us. As stated, divide and conquer.
Family is family, some is good, some not so much. Boomers with family's will fend off any who decide to attack. So get your family close, and counter this BS. The powers that be, know Boomers are the most capable people, maybe a bit slow on the physical realm, but most capable. So they must divide us.... screw that narrative. I don't buy it, nor should anyone here. This is a liberal narrative.......I refuse to accept. The invaders will target everyone of us, no matter our age.
Family is family, some is good, some not so much. Boomers with family's will fend off any who decide to attack. So get your family close, and counter this BS. The powers that be, know Boomers are the most capable people, maybe a bit slow on the physical realm, but most capable. So they must divide us.... screw that narrative. I don't buy it, nor should anyone here. This is a liberal narrative.......I refuse to accept. The invaders will target everyone of us, no matter our age.
Ageism is nothing new.
I remember lengthy discussions with a neighbor born about 1900.
He recounted one of his favorite sayings to older men: "you can't pi$$ a drop". He was in his 90s when we talked. He was remorseful not boasting.
Point being: weaponizing the ageism is the problem. That's a distinction worth reiterating.
Many boomers are getting defined contribution pensions plus 401k checks. They saw home ownership with astronomical increases in value in the last 50 to 60 years.
Kids now hear the "you'll own nothing and be happy" spiel and have -cough- ahem- reservations.
I see both sides to the argument. I'm firmly entrenched into the cynical "X" category. My misanthropy is comprehensive. I dislike all y'all...
I remember lengthy discussions with a neighbor born about 1900.
He recounted one of his favorite sayings to older men: "you can't pi$$ a drop". He was in his 90s when we talked. He was remorseful not boasting.
Point being: weaponizing the ageism is the problem. That's a distinction worth reiterating.
Many boomers are getting defined contribution pensions plus 401k checks. They saw home ownership with astronomical increases in value in the last 50 to 60 years.
Kids now hear the "you'll own nothing and be happy" spiel and have -cough- ahem- reservations.
I see both sides to the argument. I'm firmly entrenched into the cynical "X" category. My misanthropy is comprehensive. I dislike all y'all...
BassMan
Veteran Member
Boomer here, though born at the end of the generation and being a non-conformer, I relate more to Gen X.
While some resentment is inevitable (book: "The Fourth Turning") I also feel that "our owners" (think George Carlin) play various groups against each other. Divide and conquer.
I for one am living humbly and leaving all I can to the next 2 generations.
While some resentment is inevitable (book: "The Fourth Turning") I also feel that "our owners" (think George Carlin) play various groups against each other. Divide and conquer.
I for one am living humbly and leaving all I can to the next 2 generations.
If somebody ever spoke "OK, boomer!" to me, I'd just grin and answer "No problem, RENTER!" 
My wife and I are both in our 70s and own a small (1055ft2) 1919 farmhouse on 41.3 acres with a big creek here in extremely rural West Virginia. Paid $138,500 for it in 2019, and put around $11,500 into it for repairs and upgrades, so say $150K total. We raise a small flock of hair sheep for meat and have no neighbors within a mile. Originally we had 49.84 acres when we bought the place and offered our best friends (with 8 kids & renting in PA) a dozen acres here and $50K cash upfront if they would move here. Flatly refused, saying they wouldn't live so rural on any terms. We were heartbroken, but moved on. Dennis wants more paragraph breaks in my posts so I'm creating one here.
My farmhand Tim and his girlfriend Brandy had worked intermittently for me for two years and had gained my respect and friendship, so when they told me that their landlord was thinking of selling the small house they were renting ($350/month!) a few miles away, I made a deal with him. If he would agree to supply me with a few cords of firewood every spring and clean out my sheep barn twice monthly in the winter and kinda look after us a little bit, I would gift him my northernmost parcel of land up the hollow 1/4 mile away. 8.73 raw acres. 1 acre of flat grass along a small creek and 7.73 acres of mountainous tall hardwoods. Prime hunting. Turkey and deer. Bears and bobcats. You could fire rifles here and nobody would ever even hear the shots. I made Tim the offer in front of his live-in girlfriend of 3 years, Brandy with one condition, that he marry Brandy. He immediately accepted my deal and proposed to Brandy on the spot. Brandy was wide-eyed and thrilled, crying and jumping for joy into his arms. They married and we signed the land over to BOTH of them as a wedding present.
Dennis wants more paragraph breaks in my posts so I'm creating one here.
Their landlord thankfully has never gotten around to selling the place they were renting from, and they still live there today. Tim's mom owned a tiny house (450ft2?) that she wasn't living in, so she gave it to them as a wedding present and he had it moved to their land. They plan on doubling the house square feet, installing electricity, getting a well dug, and a septic system installed. In that order, before they move in. They now have a mini-farm up there in the hollow. Three pigs (two are pets), 9 Nigerian dwarf goats, 10 chickens, 4 ducks, and 1 very large pet white male turkey (utterly tame) who comes daily to our house, making himself a nuisance by crapping on our front porch while looking for cat food. They are hoping to move in by next year, which would give us neighbors for a change. 1/4 mile away neighbors, who'll probably inherit our farm when we pass away. So...am I good boomer? I better be. Cause I own the end of the mountain ridge overlooking the only way in and I have a lifetime of ammo.
My wife and I are both in our 70s and own a small (1055ft2) 1919 farmhouse on 41.3 acres with a big creek here in extremely rural West Virginia. Paid $138,500 for it in 2019, and put around $11,500 into it for repairs and upgrades, so say $150K total. We raise a small flock of hair sheep for meat and have no neighbors within a mile. Originally we had 49.84 acres when we bought the place and offered our best friends (with 8 kids & renting in PA) a dozen acres here and $50K cash upfront if they would move here. Flatly refused, saying they wouldn't live so rural on any terms. We were heartbroken, but moved on. Dennis wants more paragraph breaks in my posts so I'm creating one here.
My farmhand Tim and his girlfriend Brandy had worked intermittently for me for two years and had gained my respect and friendship, so when they told me that their landlord was thinking of selling the small house they were renting ($350/month!) a few miles away, I made a deal with him. If he would agree to supply me with a few cords of firewood every spring and clean out my sheep barn twice monthly in the winter and kinda look after us a little bit, I would gift him my northernmost parcel of land up the hollow 1/4 mile away. 8.73 raw acres. 1 acre of flat grass along a small creek and 7.73 acres of mountainous tall hardwoods. Prime hunting. Turkey and deer. Bears and bobcats. You could fire rifles here and nobody would ever even hear the shots. I made Tim the offer in front of his live-in girlfriend of 3 years, Brandy with one condition, that he marry Brandy. He immediately accepted my deal and proposed to Brandy on the spot. Brandy was wide-eyed and thrilled, crying and jumping for joy into his arms. They married and we signed the land over to BOTH of them as a wedding present.
Dennis wants more paragraph breaks in my posts so I'm creating one here.
Their landlord thankfully has never gotten around to selling the place they were renting from, and they still live there today. Tim's mom owned a tiny house (450ft2?) that she wasn't living in, so she gave it to them as a wedding present and he had it moved to their land. They plan on doubling the house square feet, installing electricity, getting a well dug, and a septic system installed. In that order, before they move in. They now have a mini-farm up there in the hollow. Three pigs (two are pets), 9 Nigerian dwarf goats, 10 chickens, 4 ducks, and 1 very large pet white male turkey (utterly tame) who comes daily to our house, making himself a nuisance by crapping on our front porch while looking for cat food. They are hoping to move in by next year, which would give us neighbors for a change. 1/4 mile away neighbors, who'll probably inherit our farm when we pass away. So...am I good boomer? I better be. Cause I own the end of the mountain ridge overlooking the only way in and I have a lifetime of ammo.
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BassMan
Veteran Member
Nice paragraph breaks!If somebody ever spoke "OK, boomer!" to me, I'd just grin and answer "No problem, RENTER!"
My wife and I are both in our 70s and own a small (1055ft2) 1919 farmhouse on 41.3 acres with a big creek here in extremely rural West Virginia. Paid $138,500 for it in 2019, and put around $11,500 into it for repairs and upgrades, so say $150K total. We raise a small flock of hair sheep for meat and have no neighbors within a mile. Originally we had 49.84 acres when we bought the place and offered our best friends (with 8 kids & renting in PA) a dozen acres here and $50K cash upfront if they would move here. Flatly refused, saying they wouldn't live so rural on any terms. We were heartbroken, but moved on. Dennis wants more paragraph breaks in my posts so I'm creating one here.
My farmhand Tim and his girlfriend Brandy had worked intermittently for me for two years and had gained my respect and friendship, so when they told me that their landlord was thinking of selling the small house they were renting ($350/month!) a few miles away, I made a deal with him. If he would agree to supply me with a few cords of firewood every spring and clean out my sheep barn twice monthly in the winter and kinda look after us a little bit, I would gift him my northernmost parcel of land up the hollow 1/4 mile away. 8.73 raw acres. 1 acre of flat grass along a small creek and 7.73 acres of mountainous tall hardwoods. Prime hunting. Turkey and deer. Bears and bobcats. You could fire rifles here and nobody would ever even hear the shots. I made Tim the offer in front of his live-in girlfriend of 3 years, Brandy with one condition, that he marry Brandy. He immediately accepted my deal and proposed to Brandy on the spot. Brandy was wide-eyed and thrilled, crying and jumping for joy into his arms. They married and we signed the land over to BOTH of them as a wedding present.
Dennis wants more paragraph breaks in my posts so I'm creating one here.
Their landlord thankfully has never gotten around to selling the place they were renting from, and they still live there today. Tim's mom owned a tiny house (450ft2?) that she wasn't living in, so she gave it to them as a wedding present and he had it moved to their land. They plan on doubling the house square feet, installing electricity, getting a well dug, and a septic system installed. In that order, before they move in. They now have a mini-farm up there in the hollow. Three pigs (two are pets), 9 Nigerian dwarf goats, 10 chickens, 4 ducks, and 1 very large pet white male turkey (utterly tame) who comes daily to our house, making himself a nuisance by crapping on our front porch while looking for cat food. Tim's hoping to move in by next year, which would give us neighbors for a change. 1/4 mile away neighbors.
Probably will inherit our farm when we pass away. So...am I good boomer? I better be. Cause I own the end of the mountain ridge overlooking the only way in and I have a lifetime of ammo.
...but seriously, I don't think recent generations realize how humbly/spartan most boomers were raised, or how hard they worked. On the other hand, I don't think boomers typically understand how the economy boomed after WWII, or how hard things have gotten.
What we have here, is a failure to communicate...