Generation Gap VS Generation Bridge

There have been a lot of folks I am very pleased to have crossed paths with.

One of the heights for me was Steve Allen laughing at a joke I told him … running into folks while doing regular life stuff can be quite interesting – like realizing I was sitting one evening quite a while ago in a virtually empty restaurant just a few feet across from Johnny Cash and trying not to stare. Or standing backstage at the Grand Ole Opry house just offstage and having a pleasant conversation for about a half hour with Porter Wagoner. Getting to interview Lou Gramm after a Foreigner concert in Florida was way cool. Having some really great music folks on my rock show in a past life (pun intended).

I’m really not trying to name drop – but to make a point …

Then there are folks I have great friendships with who are well known “in the industry” which I will not mention … and then there are those who I have briefly worked with or known for a time and life takes us in different directions.

One of those who I appreciate running across and having a few awesome conversations with is Donny York who is a founding member of the band
Sha Na Na

… he penned an article for a publication I edit about Rock and Roll and Pat Boone. He is always on the road with the band – I noticed they playing Busch Gardens in Florida this month.

Donny York said something very significant about Rock and Roll – it’s a “GENERATION BRIDGE” as opposed to causing a generation gap.

This is the point I wish to make –

There are those who cause gaps and others who build bridges.

It doesn’t matter how rich or famous … or how public or private …

Just as wine, folks mature.

Life is growth in body, mind and spirit.

Relationships mature … friendships mature …

Especially attitudes and outlooks grow and mature.

Ever notice how older folks are either sunny or stormy
in their “disposition”?

It’s simple – the more we experience life, the more we realize how a lot of it is based on B.S. – hence, the older a person is, the more wisdom they have acquired and it has one or the other effect on their disposition.

After a while you will just have your fill of car salesmen, religious idiots, dirty politics, back-stabbers, false advertisers, indifferent doctors, bait and switchers, big bad wolves, slanderers and gossipers, bullies in positions of authority and on and on and on ….

There’s no getting around it – life is a contact sport.

It’s all in how a person handles
the hits and trip-ups in life …

If we cherish our loved ones – If we cherish our friendships – If we appreciate our lives – That is where the difference comes in for what quality of life we have.

It’s easy to be bitter. But if you do not work on life, life will work on you.

I am reminded of the late comedian George Carlin in my favorite observation he once made – that you are listening to someone who sounds pretty smart and has it together, then there is the moment of realization that he’s full of s**t !

“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?”

– George Carlin

You can let disappointments eat at you – or you can learn from them and grow beyond them.

Conflict is usually caused by manipulators.

Manipulators benefit from conflict. As kids, we called them “tattle-tales” for one example.

My favorite Dr Seuss story is the one about the “Sneeches”. Some had stars on the chest and some had no star on their chest – so one looked down on the other.

No one seems to focus on the guy with the star-on / star-off machine who made off with a pile of money … most saw it as a story about bigotry – but I saw it as a story about those who take advantage of other’s ignorance and take all their money.

Today, conflict is being thrust upon us by splitting classes of people … the reality is – we are part of a machine called life and the happiest people are those who see to fit into that machine by finding their purpose in life.

It wasn’t a few decades ago that it was all about splitting the generations.

The “generation gap” !

And why did manipulators want to cause a “gap” between young and old ?

Because with age comes wisdom … the youth that seeks wisdom cannot be fooled by the manipulators. If the manipulators can separate inexperienced youth from the wisdom of maturity, then youth can be more easily driven and manipulated.

Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to embrace (hope). “

– Aristotle

I can’t count how many times the wisdom from Grandaddy saved me from quite a few pit falls.

However – not all of them. Even as kids, we must fall and scrape our knee to learn. We still scrape our knee every now and then but falling off of life as an adult can be a lot more painful than falling off of your bicycle as a kid.

Youthful rebellion has a purpose – it is what drives the bird from the nest.

However – natural youthful rebellion is not based on reckless abandon as it is so often thought to be.

I’m not sure who first said this – but
if you don’t work life, life will work you.

So don’t let rough spots in the road and manipulators
sour our love for our lives.

Dwell on your blessings and work through the rough parts.

Be a bridge builder.

Seek the wisdom of maturity. Don’t change but grow in purpose.

If you are going through hell – keep going.”

– Winston Churchill

Category: Tony Rollo Blog