Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Respecting Your Elders, Part II

I have knitterly things to discuss, but for now, a quick story:

Last Saturday I went to the post office to mail wedding invitations and got in line behind a gentleman who appeared to be in his 60s. He turned to me and, without provocation, said, "Do you know what the problem with the younger generation is?"

I looked at him.

"The problem with the younger generation is," he told me, "they don't want to work."

Really? "I hold multiple jobs," I told him.

"Well then, you're the exception," he said. "Young people don't like working."

There are other days when I would have been nicer, when I would have humored his dumb-old-fart routine. Not that day, not after a week of all my friends either getting laid off or being overworked as a result of other people getting laid off or working their rear ends off because of a fear of getting laid off or generally just working their rear ends off because the price of things is soooo much high than when Mr. Baby Boomer turned 30 years old.

Not that day.

"I don't want to talk about this," I told him. "Go have that conversation with someone else."

And the crazy thing? He kept talking! It took a few more sentences of him talking about the younger generation without me answering before he got the point that I wasn't going to participate.

Seriously, Boomers. Can you please just stop?

4 comments:

Gena said...

Right, we don't want to work. Seriously, just because our jobs are different (office as opposed to labor) doesn't mean we're lazy! Sheesh!

I wouldn't have put up with him either, after watching GP try to get a job for several months now. With 2 degrees, no less.

Clumsy Knitter said...

I can't think of a single person in their 20s or 30s who doesn't want to work, or who wouldn't love to have a job-any job!-right now. (Me included!) Sometimes something has to be said. Good show. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow, I think you handled that amazingly well. I don't know if I could've said anything--I might have been too dumbfounded.

Sally Comes Unraveled said...

You'd think he'd keep that thought to himself while speaking with the younger generation.