On the Cusp

Technically, I'm a Baby Boomer. I was born in 1962, and the time span for Boomers is roughly 1946 to 1964. According to some, the "cutoff" for Boomers is 1962. By some accounts, Generation Xers are those born after 1962; by others, it is those born after 1964.

Either way, the age span for Boomers is nearly a generation. And either way, I am on the cusp. I've always known this, and have never felt truly part of either generation. I know where my heart is--in the 60s--but that doesn't change the fact that I grew up in the 70s and spent my adolescence awash in disco.

Sixteen years ago, I wrote an essay called "On the Cusp." I never published it, or tried to, but I gave it to both Eric Andersen and, with some trepidation, to Gregory Corso. I guess I was hoping for an icon from the generation I so admired to understand what I perceived as a "predicament." I don't think either of them did.

It seems I'm on a lifelong mission to understand--if not embrace--this "straddling" of generations myself. After many years of reading, writing, and experiencing, I've gotten closer--but still no cigar. Hopefully, there will be a "cigar" in the near future.