Please stop by Palo Alto’s Rinconada Library at 7pm on Thursday, June 9, 2016 to hear our last talk before late summer.
The economy is improving and every day there seems to be a new medical breakthrough that will increase quality of life. But it seems that Boomers’ optimism for 
the future—that our lives will keep getting better—has been in decline, according to a recent article by Joan Moran in the Sixty & Me Newsletter. She noted the CNN 2010 study that “80% of Boomers were pessimistic about the current direction of the U.S…the 2007—2008 Great Recession was deep and profound and rocked the idyllic world of the Boomers…One-fifth of baby boomers believe their standard of living is lower than their parents. And about a third expect their children to experience an even lower standard of living.” And she mentioned the “Pew Research Center’s Social and Demographic Trends study, Boomers saw their retirement and pension funds shrinking during this recent recession.”
However, 8 years after the Great Recession, it seems as though Boomers remain resilient despite their frustrations and concerns. We Boomers can, do, and must 
continue to lead the way on reinforcing democracy’s ideals of social and economic equality across all socio-economic strata. We must harken back to our motives, goals, and accomplishments during the 1960s!
By building on our prior social commitments, we can also lead the way in demonstrating resilience—making lemonade out of lemons—and not letting set-backs divert us. Once again, according to Moran, “Boomer resilience [is] strong and gives us the power to stay uplifted and energetic at any and all ages, from challenging decades to creative retirement years…despite real wars and gas wars, high mortgage rates and high housing costs, tight money and huge debt. Boomer resilience keeps the historical momentum of the 60s…alive and well.”
On a different note, please review our new media coverage. Rick’s article titled “6 Ways to Volunteer Abroad and Be Really Useful” appears in the May 23 issue of PBS’ Next Avenue and on Forbes.com.
