These markers probably led to many E.R. visits over the years. Whenever my teachers in the 1970s would pull these out, you could smell them a mile away.

A very good friend of mine recently had to have 2 cancerous moles removed. Back in our teens and twenties we all knew we wanted to be golden bronze and stayed way too long in the sun. Even if it wasn’t just for a tan but because we were just out all day living life we still got a boat load of sun and likely not enough sunscreen. It takes around 30 years for sun burn to develop into skin cancer. Don’t ignore those moles. Get ‘em checked.

Any other GenXers starting to "feel it" or is it just me? Seems like the world is going in one direction (younger, faster, more populated, busier, harder) while I'm going another (softer, more vulnerable, less sharp) and the contrast has felt really brutal lately. Just trying to figure out a new patient portal sends me spinning, or being in a crowd (even if it's a cheerful one). I can't keep up - with technology, with media, with world news, with youthful energy, with freeway driving - I feel old. I know it's not cool to bitch about aging, but this shit scares me.

I'm currently listening to everything nineties into the 2010s. Grunge, pop, metal, alternative, dance, hip hop, I'm reliving and loving it all. I do listen to some current pop and alternative because I don't want to get stuck in an era- but what an era to be stuck in!

Sorry, ETA, I should have made clear I'm not listening to cassettes, or asking if you are, ust wondering what genres of music you're listening to in the age streaming and in the wake of nostalgia, for some.

I hope it’s ok to post this here.

I was notified that the doctor I have been using (a woman) is leaving the practice and I have been reassigned to a very young doctor (male). He finished his residency about 8 weeks ago.

I have a lot of complex health needs and have spent my whole life being gaslit by male doctors. That’s probably fueling my discomfort. But more complicating is that I am in the deep throes of perimenopause and I much prefer having a doctor who has thought about this stage of life (lucky me, I’ve been in perimenopause for a decade so I’ve had a wide range of care related to it and most of it has sucked).

I just don’t know that I trust an inexperienced doctor to treat me. Especially a male doctor - my experiences with male doctors have been so profoundly dismissive.

I can call and say it is my “strong preference” to see a woman practitioner but I’d have to transfer to a different office which is much further from home.

Am I being unreasonable? Should I give Doogie a chance? I am exhausted by dealing with all of the admin that comes with my health conditions and I’m very cranky about this. I’d love the thoughts of ladies here, just for some perspective.

Thanks!

Edit: thanks so much for your thoughts and experiences! Knowing so many people have thought about this makes me feel less crazy.

I think I’ll give him a chance. This is my GP’s office (where I live, seeing a specialist requires a 9 month wait and a human sacrifice). If he is freaked out by any part of my medical history (neurological, psychiatric, menopausal) or dismissive of any of the things I already know need medical care, I can try my luck in the further office with a female practitioner. They make these things inordinately stressful!

Far back right. We had it. Hand hit the top, INSTANT blister on my entire hand and gauze for a week. Lesson learned. Don't be an idiot.

Mine were pretty normal. Go to Grandparents on Thanksgiving. Open 1 present on Christmas eve. The best gift was from Santa in the morning. I knew a girl growing up who's mom did the weirdest thing to me.

Her mother would take her around to the stores to let her pick out her Christmas gifts. She would buy them while they were at the store together and then put them in the closet until Christmas morning when she let her open them.

I always thought that was weird as shit.

I mean I guess she was trying to make sure she got her daughter exactly what she wanted which is pretty cool but the other side to that knowing for sure means no surprise.

For some reason I have been thinking about that girl again.

What about you? Any weird traditions?

I just realized the character from the 80s Max Headroom was named after the height warning for vehicles in the UK. Please tell me I’m not the only dumbass.

I've been noticing a fair bit of youngish people being diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Some dying quite young as a result.

I may be hyper focused on this cause a few months ago a good friend passed from it, but I think of James Van Der Beek, Chadwick Boseman as a few other examples.

I wonder if it could be because there's more awareness of colorectal cancers & people are speaking up more about their health.

Have you noticed it too?

Always thought it was fun. I think it is Micheal J Fox’s debut.

Imagine if the young pups have to be subject to this!

My parents recently got rid of TDS because the cable/internet/phone was waaay too expensive. Now they don't have a land line. My mother has dementia, so they need to have a landline phone that she can operate in an emergency.

Any suggestions on an inexpensive landline where we can set up multiple handsets in different rooms of the home (so there is always one close by).

I've done some searching, but am kind of overwhelmed with the options. I don't know what company to trust with keeping prices low.

Thank you.

Does anybody else here lift their feet while driving or riding in a car while going over railroad tracks? I think I learned it from my older brother's Boy Scout leader in the 80s and been doing it ever since. Every single time. It's supposed to be good luck, I think?

Marathon was my favorite. I just read that it was in production from 1973 to 1981. When my grandpa gave me a quarter- I was headed to the store for one of these!

Definitely one of Oliver Reed’s best performances.

Figure you guys wanted to see the other side

I loved me some Sky Blue and some Cornflower! What colors do you remember?

The start of the school year was such an awesome time. My crayons looked so good for a few weeks. But that sharpener was an engineering failure.

I’ve always told my kids: no funeral or memorial service for me. Have me cremated & then I don’t care if you toss my ashes in the trash bc I won't be around to care. Just throw a massive party with a live band, lots of laughs, and absolutely no crying allowed on my time. Cry on your own time.Since I’ve also always claimed to be immortal, I’m building a playlist for this future death party full of songs that bring my twisted sense of humor.

So far, my starter list spans 1970s-current rock, punk, and pop:

You're Dead – Norma Tanega (The What We Do in the Shadows theme)

No One Lives Forever – Oingo Boingo

Every Breath You Take – The Police

If You Don't Know Me By Now – Simply Red (Stole this from a friend)

Highway to Hell – AC/DC

Cups (When I'm Gone) – Anna Kendrick

What else belongs on a playlist meant to make people dance, laugh, and feel slightly unsettled by my lingering presence? Bring me your best 70s-to-now rock, punk, and pop tracks.

This is the type of twisted humor only GenX could appreciate and contribute to

I was there. I lived through it. But no one has ever been to explain to me where the sudden fascination with ninjas came from in the mid to late 80s. We had ninja movies, ninja tv shows, there were magazines selling “ninja tools”. It didn’t make sense then; it doesn’t make sense now. Of all the things, why ninjas?

I’ve been thinking about this lately seeing many famous people (Actors, celebrities, musicians, tv personalities) of my generation passing away and it got me curious about what that felt like for people who went through this before.

Today I was looking at an investment property built in 1955 which was owned by the family of the original owners. The house hasn’t had many updates over the years but the backyard had an ash pit( incinerator vault) and a clothes line. I had to explain to my son(28) what the ash pit was for.

I(56) remember my parent’s first house had an ash pit in the backyard and a clothes line, so did both my grandparents houses. My mom(76) thinks they stopped burning the garbage in our city in the early 1970s. I don’t remember them ever using the ash pit and always being told to stay away from it.

Did you have an ash pit? Clothes line? Do you remember them being actively used?

Edit: I guess I should have referred to the “ash pit” structure as more of an incinerator vault. Mu family called it an ash pit. They were built as part of the house along with the sturdy clothes line.

“No, the hit records of your generation are not better than today’s. As soon as you stop listening to new music, your life is over. You are a fart.” -- John Waters

I'm 53, happily married, no kids. I do not go all the way with the great John Waters and still spend plenty of time listening to the hit records of my/our generation.

I also regularly discover 400-600 new (to me) songs every year since I started being intentional about music discovery nearly 15 years ago.

If you find music discovery, however you chose to define the term here in the present, frustrating/baffling/arcane, may I be of some service?

As a GenXer I am curious how others feel. My dad did a lot of things right that helped me.

He also did things that scarred me to this day. Our relationship was mixed at best - I don’t think we ever really understood each other.

I don’t know how to feel about this and wonder about perspectives from other GenX men.