Hey Odin, I think Cynic Hero needs some more lithium!

William Strauss gave the world a forum in which thinkers about generations could post their thoughts. Even if we will probably never agree about what type of generation 1984 belongs in he did do the world a great service by allowing people of different generations to talk about a topic that has been spurring around my mind ever since I noticed the difference between my peers and the Boomer authority figures who sought to control us. I could get into flame wars with people like Starkk or discuss what it means to conform and to rebel. I could do it all on this site. Thank you for spending your life to create a forum like this. -Craig

Originally Posted by KaiserD2

Unfortunately he has not been able to recover from the last treatment. His wife Janie, '46, a wonderful woman and a dear friend, has just told me to let you all know about this. Bill is very weak; it is impossible to know how long he will last.

From a previous post I know zilch is not on the Strauss family's "Ignore List," so would it be improper of me to ask how things are going at this point?

Just asking...

David, any news about Bill Strauss? And how is Neil Howe doing?

An update would be much welcomed.

Thanks.

I have been back home for a week, but I spoke to Bill yesterday. He is hard at work dictating his reminiscences to one of his daughters when the spirit moves him and he had actually been wheeled out of his bedroom. He is still in no pain and is still eating. Certainly he is better than expected ten days ago, but I think the fundamental picture remains unchanged.

I saw Neil last Sunday and he was very much himself but it must clearly be very hard for him.

Originally Posted by KaiserD2

I have been back home for a week, but I spoke to Bill yesterday. He is hard at work dictating his reminiscences to one of his daughters when the spirit moves him and he had actually been wheeled out of his bedroom. He is still in no pain and is still eating. Certainly he is better than expected ten days ago, but I think the fundamental picture remains unchanged.

I saw Neil last Sunday and he was very much himself but it must clearly be very hard for him.

Is he at home then? I had visions of him sitting in a hospital room connected to tons of tubes. Being at home surrounded by family and friends sounds much more healing.

Thanks for the update. Best wishes to all the Strausses.

I'll be praying for Mr. Strauss.

Mr Strauss I hope it will console you and your loved ones to know that your ideas and theories about the generational cycles of history will live on long after we and all we know are gone. Many eyes as yet unborn will be opened and see more clearly because of your efforts. I wish you and yours strength and peace during this difficult time. You and Mr Howe will always have our deepest gratitude.

Bri2k

It just hit me that my grandfather, who would be 86 today, died almost exactly 22 years ago of cancer in similar circumstances as Mr. Strauss.

Originally Posted by The Wonkette

Is he at home then? I had visions of him sitting in a hospital room connected to tons of tubes. Being at home surrounded by family and friends sounds much more healing.

Thanks for the update. Best wishes to all the Strausses.

Bill and Neil predicted in Fourth Turning Boomers in their final days will prefer to spend it in their homes surrounded by family and friends, rather than sitting it out in a hosptial room.

Originally Posted by Tristan

Bill and Neil predicted in Fourth Turning Boomers in their final days will prefer to spend it in their homes surrounded by family and friends, rather than sitting it out in a hosptial room.

Well, wouldn't most people?

Originally Posted by MichaelEaston

Well, wouldn't most people?

IIRC, S and H were contrasting the GI faith in technology, including medical technology to the boomer preference for non traditional treatments. Hopefully, by the time you millies are very old and have to ponder 'passing on', it may be possible to have high tech medical care in the home at a level unknown of today. That would bring a wholeness to the outer world physical process that we don't have yet. The inner world spiritual process will of course always be an individualistic experence regardless of the technology available.

Originally Posted by Odin

It just hit me that my grandfather, who would be 86 today, died almost exactly 22 years ago of cancer in similar circumstances as Mr. Strauss.

This doesn't give Mr. Strauss a very good prognosis.

Originally Posted by sean '90

This doesn't give Mr. Strauss a very good prognosis.

That is, assuming that cancer treatment hasn't changed significantly since 1985.

However, as medicine has definitely made significant leaps forward since the mid-80s, there is still room for hope...

Originally Posted by Seminomad

That is, assuming that cancer treatment hasn't changed significantly since 1985.

However, as medicine has definitely made significant leaps forward since the mid-80s, there is still room for hope...

My sister died from it 20 years after that. Comfortably, at home, arranging her wake and buying posthumous Christmas presents (talk about bawling like a baby when I opened it and found a handwritten note from her!)

There was an experimental cancer treatment they tried on her - starving the tumor of blood - not only didn't it work, it backfired. Forget the exact side effect, but, "scratch that good approach."

However, it seems to have been a peaceful passing from what I could see from the outside.

Originally Posted by MichaelEaston

Well, wouldn't most people?

Probably. But Boomers will demand it... likely in trade for their houses/bank accounts when they finally go. Quite unlike the Silent, who meekly marched into nursing homes, go-along-to-get-along to the bitter end.

In the case of old Boomers who'll have no family or friends to surround them (quite probably me)... they'll be the ones checking into the Soylent Euthanasia Centres for sendoffs worthy of a king.

Yes, Bill has been continuously at home for at least a couple of weeks. He is in no pain, and is still himself, but quite weak. I will simply say that the atmosphere in his house is everything one could wish for at such a time. There is a steady stream of visitors coming to see him--many, like my wife and me, from hundreds of miles away.

Since we are bringing generations into this. .. one of my uncles died almost exactly 40 years ago at age 50 of cancer. Not only were his teenage children not even told he was fatally ill, but he was never told. Even then I was rather shocked by all this but much too young to say anything about it. I suspect that story will come as a shock to some younger folk as an indication of how far GIs would go to deny the obvious. . . but it is true.

My favorite Boomer motto is that the truth does not kill. Recently, confronted with another (and very tragic) situation like this, I heard a very wise Boomer say that people who had really lived were not afraid to die. I think that's true.

My Dad had a similar end to Grey Badger's sister. He had fought colon cancer (which had metastisized to his liver and ultimately his lungs) for 5 1/2 years, in which he for the most part felt great, played tennis, worked, traveled, and enjoyed his life. In the last few weeks, he noticeably weakened and towards the end lost his appetite for most things but not for this pure cream ice cream called "Danish Cream" by a local Iowa City ice cream maker called "Great Midwestern". The last few days of his life were spent with his family and his TAs came over to his house to finish grading the final exams (he was a prof at the University of Iowa).

On his last day, he turned in his semester grades, saw all four of his kids, took a nap, and never woke up. It was about as peaceful as you could get. He was only 56, but due to the Silent tendency to marry early, got to enjoy grandkids and see all his kids grow up.

Originally Posted by Roadbldr '59

Quite unlike the Silent, who meekly marched into nursing homes, go-along-to-get-along to the bitter end.

My dad passed away at home. He wanted it that way.

Originally Posted by Child of Socrates

My dad passed away at home. He wanted it that way.

For my parents it wasn't possible.

My Mom had a stroke in 2000 that left her unable to live at home without round-the-clock supervision/care. My Dad was too weak to provide the care she needed, being old and not-so-well himself. Two years later Dad was in the hospital for triple-bypass surgery, after which he never regained the strength he needed to live alone. Both went within four months of each other in 2003.

As my sister and I both had to work, caring for them at our homes wasn't an option either. And if we had been able to, without modern medical technology at their beck-and-call, they'd have likely lingered on for merely weeks, rather than months or years... which isn't what they wanted.

Originally Posted by KaiserD2

Yes, Bill has been continuously at home for at least a couple of weeks. He is in no pain, and is still himself, but quite weak. I will simply say that the atmosphere in his house is everything one could wish for at such a time. There is a steady stream of visitors coming to see him--many, like my wife and me, from hundreds of miles away.

Since we are bringing generations into this. .. one of my uncles died almost exactly 40 years ago at age 50 of cancer. Not only were his teenage children not even told he was fatally ill, but he was never told. Even then I was rather shocked by all this but much too young to say anything about it. I suspect that story will come as a shock to some younger folk as an indication of how far GIs would go to deny the obvious. . . but it is true.

My favorite Boomer motto is that the truth does not kill. Recently, confronted with another (and very tragic) situation like this, I heard a very wise Boomer say that people who had really lived were not afraid to die. I think that's true.

Thanks for the update Professor Kaiser.

It's very sad to read about.

Originally Posted by James E. F. Landau

I wrote an email to John Milens on September 11, 2001 asking him if he thought now everyone born since 1982 was going to love Bush and serve their country in a scoutlike manner in war. He said no, and added that if that was a veiled way of asking whether 9/11 was the start of the Fourth Turning, he believed it wasn't. He likened the government and public reaction to 9/11 to World War I. I wrote back that I didn't believe this was the Catalyst either, with the primary reason being that the reaction to the attack was completely event-driven.

The two of you both thought that? Wow. It just goes to show with my little observation that the Millennials on this board tended to think we were still in the 3T after the attack, while people of Jones age (about 1952-1961) tended to think we were in the 4T.

I just talked to Bill again--our second fairly lengthy conversation in the last four days. He is still working on some projects, including an album of his own Greatest Hits with the Capitol Steps, and remains very interested in the political scene (and very encouraged by the sudden decline of a certain New York Senator's poll numbers.) In short, he is weak, but alert, although pretty much confined to his bedroom. The stream of visitors continues.

Bill said he is for Obama but would vote for Huckabee over Clinton. (The latter fact will not surprise anyone who has read his posts here from 1998-9.)

Thanks for the update.

I've been lurking for a couple of weeks now; a glitch prevented me from posting but it's been fixed now!

I found out about the books last month and the idea intrigued me. I bought them both and read them in two days. Simply incredible.

It might sound hokey but a lot of things make sense to me now, both personally and in my family dynamics. I hope someone could pass along my deepest appreciation for what Mr. Strauss has done, as well as best wishes for his health. It's good to hear he's feeling as well as he is, all things considered.

As soon as I figure out where you all do that I'll post a better introduction.

I posted a little in the early days of the forums/discussions under this name, back in the days of 2boomers. I have been lurking occasionally in the intervening years.

The 62 is my birthyear, so I am a leading-edge 13er. I always knew I wasn't a Boomer, but until I read Generations I didn't know what else there was to be. It was probably 1992 when I first read Generations. The 1960/1961 Boomer/13er boundary was exactly right in my experience and that is what initially grabbed me.

I want to thank Bill and Neil for their work. It has permanently influenced the way I look at history and current events. It has also provided unique insights into situations in my own life.