Roll Over
Beethoven
by Eva Pasco
Chuck Berry's 1956 hit recorded by the Beatles in 1963 for their
British LP, With the
Beatles, and released in the US of 1964 for the opening track
of The Beatles' Second
Album got ”My temperature risin" and me "Rollin' in
arthritis," a Baby Boomer out of joint from what's been rollin' down the pike since the Sixties
faded. Granted, the threat of Communism and a mushroom cloud of nuclear annihilation hovered
over the West in the Sixties...and alien abduction invaded our space. Anyway, without rehashing the
hashish so many have already permeated the air with, I'll attempt to take the high road as I trip along
Rod Serling's Twilight
Zone. As bizarre as those episodes which aired from 1959
- 1964 may have been, none can hold a candle to present day reality:
1. We've become obsessed with hand sanitizers and antibacterial wipes in the home,
school, and workplace in a valiant effort to stave off germs even though Boomers are living proof that
soap and water work just fine.
2. Boomers grew up drinking tap water where the fluoride additive helped fortify our
teeth against cavities in preparation for the purified bottled elixir most of us purchase
today.
3. Though I can recall standing in a queue to receive a polio vaccine during my
childhood, it's become the norm to inoculate ourselves yearly against the seasonal flu. I've
already gotten my shot.
4. While attending school we Boomers were privy to plenty of fire drills, but now there are
additional protocol drills for sneezing and coughing with etiquette to prevent the spread of
germs. Oh, be sure to toss any used tissues into the biohazardous waste bin,
please.
5. The times they are a changin' such that our school buildings, previously
safe havens for Boomers, are now locked. Security sensors are in place and volunteer parents must
now voluntarily submit to a criminal background check.
6. Though Boomers had always been forewarned about checking trick-or-treat goodies
collected from a night of foraging, it's far too scary for most children to venture from door to door these
days.
7. As teens, we Boomers may have sprouted cauliflower ear from monopolizing
the telephone, but somehow we managed to "keep our snoopy eyes on the road
ahead" dee doody doom
doom without the distraction of cell
phones.
8. We Boomers had our share of bullies and insincere Eddie Haskells where a
retort of "sticks and stones will break our bones, but names will never hurt us" plausibly offered a
verbal deterrent. Today, cyber bullies and concrete bullies have become so vicious and malicious as
to predispose a disturbing number of adolescent victims to take their own
life.
9. President John F. Kennedy got the nation's Boomers on the move in the
Sixties with his emphasis on physical fitness in the land of plenty. Seems like a "chicken in every
pot" prosperity, fast food, and sugar sugar expanded America's middle where we can't see our toes, let alone
bend to touch them. Once in control of our own waistline, Big Brother now plays the heavy by
introducing legislation and taxes to combat gross caloric consumption in the fight against the obesity
epidemic.
10. Your gripe here:
_________________________________________________________
Click the book images to order your
copy of the
books.

Signed copies of the Paperback, 40 % off suggested retail, may
be acquired at the Authors Den Signed Bookstore via Eva’s web page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
|