baby boomers

A particularly cruel scam

~ MaryG ~ 8 Comments

A friend of mine called me today with incredible news. Her novel was going to be made into a movie and she would be going to Glendale, California for a meeting about it on December 19.

I was thrilled for her. I asked how it came about and she mentioned a podcast she’d done about a year ago where she’d answered some pre-written questions about her most recent book—her third semi-autobiographical, self-published novel. Somehow a media company had heard the podcast and became interested in shopping her book to movie studios for possible adaption to film and incredibly, DreamWorks was interested.

My friend is 80 years old and recently lost a kidney to cancer. Her husband has advanced Parkinson’s Disease. She’s led an unusually interesting and challenging life. She worked very hard professionally but kept up writing fiction as a hobby for decades. Having one of her novels turned into a film would be a dream come true. Truly. I cannot think of anything else that would be more meaningful to her at this point in time. She was so excited. Her main concerns were what she would wear to the meeting in California and who could take care of her husband while she was away.

Her daughter called while we were talking, so we hung up.

I was surprised (but not shocked), when she later confirmed (by e-mail) that her daughter had been right. It was a scam.

Imagine the emotions. From the highest high to…well…the way every single scam victim must feel.

Shocked • Embarrassed • Confused
Foolish • Upset • Betrayed
Misled • Angry • Frustrated
Disappointed • Let Down • Hurt

Thankfully, her daughter caught on early and no money had yet been requested or sent.

Here’s how ChatGPT summarizes this particularly cruel scam:

A book-to-film option scam is when scammers target self-published authors by pretending a major studio wants to adapt their book. They pose as agents or producers, build excitement, and then demand money for fake services like screenplay adaptation or representation. It’s a type of advance-fee scam designed to exploit hopeful authors.

Rich old white people

~ MaryG ~ 10 Comments

I’m losing my patience with rich old white people. And by “rich” I mean comfortable…people who are in absolutely no danger of not being able to pay their monthly bills and buy groceries. People who take vacations—without fail. And by “old” I mean people who were old enough to vote for or against Ronald Reagan at least once. People like me…and my friends..and my parents…and their friends.

We are the privileged. We can say what we want. We can protest publicly without fear. Nobody is going to deport us.

If people in this demographic haven’t publicly taken a side by this point, I really don’t want to sit around and make small talk with them anymore. Politely avoiding the big three (money, politics and religion) is so tedious. I really don’t give a shit if there’s a new Trader Joe’s opening near your house, if you haven’t done one single thing to denounce Trumpism. In fact, if you’ve never made it clear (through conversations, social media posts or other actions) that you do not support Trump, I’m just gonna assume you do. And in that case, I’m really done with you, with very few exceptions.

Other than a handful of federal judges, a couple of law firms, and Harvard University, there is really very little institutional power behind the resistance at the moment. The American people are the only thing that’s gonna stop this train.

And as a reminder, everything that we ever wanted for our children and grandchildren is at stake now—even for the rich white ones.

Public education, our great national parks, scientific research, the planet, equality, freedom, democracy, healthcare, world peace, the rule of law, economic security…we could lose it all.

If you think I’m exaggerating, please read this gift article from today’s NYT.

So, to my fellow old rich white people: be brave, do something, say something, write a blog or a Facebook post, contact your legislators, fly a diversity flag, make a sign, go to a protest (maybe your first!), confront your MAGA relatives, donate to the ACLU or another organization in the fight.

Then, maybe, I’ll be interested to hear a bit more about that new Trader Joe’s and whether or not they carry wine.

If you’ve ever been on a goddamn river cruise in Europe, you should have spoken out about at least one issue by now.

An Inspiring Boomer

~ MaryG ~ 7 Comments

I got to see Broadway legend Patti LuPone perform live in concert last night and it was inspiring.

She’s 75 (about to turn 76) and she fully commanded the stage for a full two-hour show (with a short intermission). She was accompanied only by a pianist and a very talented guitarist/violinist. Both men sang some backup vocals on a few songs.

At first I thought her voice sounded a bit weak, but as the performance went on, she won me over with her incredible ability to deliver the lyrics. The performance was called “A Life in Notes” and featured songs which were meaningful to her from throughout her life.

The crowd loved her and jumped to their feet many times. I think the single biggest cheer of the night came when she added a “HA!” after the line “They say I won’t last too long on Broadway” while performing the song On Broadway to open the second half.

She sang songs from each of her Tony-award winning roles including “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” from Evita, “Some People” from Gypsy and “The Ladies Who Lunch” from Company.

She sang several popular songs from the 50s – 80s including poignant versions of “Make You Feel My Love” and “Time after Time,” which she dedicated to her family (her husband and son) with whom she spent the long Covid lockdown (“washing hands and washing groceries”). She said that time with her family had been a gift.

She talked about being in The Third Act (of life) and how she’d been looking back on all of it, from the mundane to the extraordinary, with gratitude.

I know a lot of us are anxious for “certain people” in their 70s and 80s (👀: Congress!) to relinquish their power and let younger generations fully flower, but Patti LuPone is not one of them. Her talent, wisdom, humor and sheer stamina are inspiring. She’s a Diva in the best sense of the word. A woman who owns her talent and power and does not apologize for it. I hope she never steps aside.

Three-time Tony winner Patti LuPone performing last night. She turns 76 next month.

Heretic

~ MaryG ~ 25 Comments

We haven’t been to the movies in quite some time, but decided to venture out to see Heretic starring Hugh Grant last night. That’s right, we went to see a horror movie on the big screen. That’s unusual and out of character for us as we are officially old now. My husband, at 62, qualifies for the senior discount at movie theaters and everyone knows horror movies are for the young (who love to be frightened en masse).

But Hugh Grant is one of “ours.” At 64, he’s a young boomer (like my husband) and I feel like I’ve known him all of my adult life. From his very earliest period piece Maurice in 1987 (a tale of gay love in repressed Edwardian England), through all the rom coms (Love Actually, Notting Hill…), scandals, arrests and love affairs (why couldn’t he just work things out with Liz Hurley?), I followed it all.

In Heretic, he’s smart and evil, but still somewhat charming (that upperclass Brit accent, those twinkling eyes, the modest smile). The two young actresses who play Mormon missionaries entrapped by Grant are fantastic. There are many long monologues and dialogues about world religions that make you think. At one point, the young women are forced to make a choice between two doors—one labeled Belief and the other Disbelief—to try to escape Grant’s metal-reinforced house of horrors. But the scary parts aren’t all that scary. I didn’t scream once. It’s more of a thought-provoking thriller.

Bottom line: it’s worth seeing Grant in this role if you’ve “known” him your entire adult life like I have. Technically, he’s a Baby Boomer, but culturally, he’s GenX. Apparently this group now has a name and it’s Generation Jones.

Hugh Grant with Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East in Heretic
Hot couple Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley back in the day

Woodstock

~ MaryG ~ 6 Comments

As an elder GenXer (born in 1965), I can tell you that there is no greater jealousy-inducing Baby Boomer/Aging Hippie memory than Woodstock. 55 years ago this week, 400,000 young people descended on Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York for an epic four-day concert, party, and camp out.

I’m sure there were people who brought four-year-olds to Woodstock, but my parents sure as hell were not the type. I have some older cousins who I remember talking about Woodstock, but their parents were not the type to allow that either.

Anyway, I’m a sucker for Woodstock stories and documentaries, so I enjoyed looking through these 32 photos from The Atlantic (first published five years ago on the 50th anniversary).

I think my favorites are the skinny dippers and the night shot that shows just how vast of an event it was.

I hope you can access them through this link: amp.theatlantic.com/amp/photo/596107/

Which ones are your favorites?

Did you or anyone you know go to Woodstock?

Froot Loops

~ MaryG ~ 5 Comments
Daily writing prompt
List your top 5 favorite fruits.
View all responses

Just kidding, everyone knows there’s not one speck of real fruit in Froot Loops.

This is one of the many jokes in Jerry Seinfeld’s new film “Unfrosted” on Netflix, which I recommend if you’re an American between the ages of 55 and 70.

Did your mother watch Jack LaLanne on TV—or even own one of his “calisthenics” records—like my mom did?

Did you ever make a newsprint transfer with Silly Putty?

Did you have a Milk Man?

If you ever ate astronaut-inspired “food” or grew Sea Monkeys in a fish bowl, this movie is for you!

It’s basically 90 minutes of non-stop jokes and cultural references to our 1960s childhoods. The premise of the film is the battle between Post and Kellogg’s over the race to invent a breakfast pastry kids will love even more than sugary cereals like Frosted Flakes or Froot Loops. (Spoiler alert: Kellogg’s wins with the ubiquitous, sugar-filled Pop Tart)

I don’t typically like the comedian Bill Burr, but he’s really funny as JFK in this movie. Plus, there’s a ton of other celebrities in roles both large and small.

My generation ate bananas (sliced up into cereal), apples, and dry navel oranges. In the summer, there was watermelon and the occasional strawberry shortcake (especially on the Fourth of July). I’ll stick with those as my top five fruits. Thank goodness the citrus options have improved!

A fun time in 1968

An American reacts to the death of Jimmy Buffett

~ MaryG ~ 4 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Interview someone — a friend, another blogger, your mother, the mailman — and write a post based on their responses.
View all responses

A brief interview with my husband (age 61) about the death of Jimmy Buffett at 76.

Question: You’ve awoken to the news that Jimmy Buffett has died at 76. How did it make you feel?

Answer: Surprised

Question: What were your overall feelings about Buffett?

Answer: Not a huge fan, but he was kind of a cultural icon

Question: What made him a cultural icon?

Answer: Parrot Heads [his fans], concerts, and songs that everyone knew

Question: Would you say that he was a uniquely American artist?

Answer: Yes

Question: You’ve now read his obituary in the NYT, what was the biggest surprise?

Answer: That he had a Broadway show. Also, I knew he was rich, but I didn’t know he was that rich. [Buffett’s net worth is estimated to be one billion dollars]

Question: Did you ever know any Parrot Heads?

Answer: Yes, a couple from our old neighborhood – I think they were Parrot Heads. The people that lived nextdoor to Pat. Hawaiian shirts, frozen blender drinks, heading down to Gillette [concert stadium]

Question: What do you think his legacy will be?

Answer: I think it will fade away with his fans (people our age and older)