My two-cents worth and then some. An online journal by LP Brown.

Browsing Category Baby Boomers

Good English, Bad Grammar, and Lifelong Learning

by on ·Baby Boomers

As loyal readers of this blog – all three of them – have reminded me, I haven’t posted anything here for nearly two months. While my sense of humor remains healthy, my excuses for inactivity on this site are lame. I could blame my failure to blog on the weather – too hot outside – but I can’t; because I work at home – under air conditioning – unless there is a power outage like the one that recently occurred. I cannot say that I lacked motivation and inspiration, because I didn’t and I don’t. Both qualities are fully functional, except upon occasion when they stall behind writer’s block. The honest explanation for my absence from this Boomers blog is that

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Putting A Different Spin on Paper or Plastic

by on ·Baby Boomers

Boomers, remember when you were a child and began receiving a weekly allowance? I don’t know about you, but my poor pals and I felt rich on allowance day when our parents dropped a few shiny coins — or, in my case, a thin dime — in the palm of our hand. I’m not mad about the ten cents, because for a child growing up in those Father Knows Best days a dime went a long way. I could buy 20 two-for-a-penny cookies (Oatmeal, thank you.) or an equal amount of Jawbreakers and Squirrel Nuts, or a Three Musketeers bar.

Allowances have increased. Today’s youngsters expect

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Remembering the Multi-generational Chuck Brown

by on ·Baby Boomers

Chuck Brown died yesterday. Brown, also called the “Godfather of Go Go,” was a Washington, DC legend and a 2010 Grammy Award nominee whose unique mix of funk, soul, jazz and Latin music transcended generations. Sometime during the 1970s, Brown’s style of music, as well as that of a few other local bands in the nation’s capital, came to be called go-go, and a popular line in some circles was — if you don’t know about Go-Go, then you don’t know DC.

Brown, as recognizable by his gold front tooth as for his style of music, was born in 1936. Although he was a Great Depression era baby, originally from Gaston, North Carolina, when he became a master of go-go in the DMV (District, Maryland and Virginia), he captured the hearts of many of the local teenaged offspring of Baby Boomer parents, and some of his tunes won the admiration of Boomer parents as well; even before the rest of the country knew who he was.

From the time my son was about 16, he was a fan of Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers, but because go-go music sometimes attracted a troublesome crowd, I tried to discourage his attendance at local go-go events.

My concern about the violence associated with go-go was expressed

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A Tribute to American Bandstand and Soul Train: Rock and Soul

by on ·Baby Boomers, Entertainment, Music, Nostalgia

Many Boomers bemoaned the loss of  Dick Clark, the 82 years young, 30-year host of “American Bandstand” who died of a heart attack on April 18. Two months earlier on February 1, Don Cornelius, the original “soul man” and long-time host of the nationally syndicated “Soul Train” was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 75.  In spite of the fact that Clark was white and Cornelius black, their “rock and soul” music and dance programs attracted fans of all ages across racial lines and there is hardly a Boomer alive who does not remember them.

“American Bandstand“ became regular viewing at our home sometime in the late 1950s, when my dad – who loved to dance – discovered the show while switching channels in search of a Randolph Scott or John Wayne western. In a few weeks, I too had become a loyal “Bandstand” fan. And years afterward, I looked forward annually to watching “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve.” As I was to learn, so too did many of my friends.

One New Year’s Eve, in the late 1970s, I was hosting a party in my apartment. My guests were dancing all over the place to a funky tune by Earth, Wind and Fire. At around 11:45 p.m. someone lowered the volume on the stereo (to the delight of my neighbors, I’m sure), and then switched on the television set. Everyone stopped dancing long enough to gather around the TV for the balldrop and countdown, and we all joined Dick Clark and the Times Squares revelers in a rousing “Happy New Year!”

In 1971, when “Soul Train” rolled onto the airways, I climbed on board. Cornelius, the train’s metaphoric conductor and literal host had viewers nationwide trying to imitate the fancy dance moves of Damita Jo Freeman, Joe Chisum, Patricia Davis and other members of the “Soul Train Gang.” In its early days, as the kids today might say it – “Soul Train” rocked!

Cornelius fans can only wonder what demons led him to take his own life, but when yours truly thinks of the soul man’s last moments on this earth, I imagine him signing off with his signature catchphrase, “In parting, I wish you love, peace and soooul!”

It seems ironic that both Cornelius and Clark, two men who brought so much musical entertainment and joy to the Boomer generation would die within months of each other. They were a dynamic duo of rock and roll — and rock and soul — and they made us get up and dance.

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A Never Ending Open Season on Black Males

by on ·Baby Boomers, General, Race Matters, The Way I See It

Did the Sanford, Florida police simply take George Zimmerman’s word for what happened to Trayvon Martin on February 26? No questions asked. No investigation. No lockup. Did they see a cut and dry case of  stand your ground — Black man down? End of story?  Thanks to a national outcry for justice, it is not going down like that.

Like people throughout the country, I am hurt and fire-spitting angry over the unfortunate shooting of Trayvon Martin. I have one son and six young grandsons. They are all Black. That gives me a strong vested interest in the circumstances surrounding Trayvon’s senseless killing and the call for justice.

What mother of a Black male child cannot relate to this most recent tragedy and does not fear for her own offspring? Even those of us who have had “the talk” with our young, male children know that just warning them is never enough. Making our boys aware of the dangers of simply being a Black male, combined with the ongoing racial stereotyping and negative judgments against Blacks in general is a struggle that requires endless vigilance.

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