Alan Sivell's A Boomer Life

Alan R Sivell
  • 5.0 (14)
  • PERSONAL JOURNALS

I’m one of 74,000,000 Baby Boomers. I am writing my life story (on my blog) and narrating it (here) because if I don’t, the only earthly notice of my middle-class, middle-American existence might be a feature story in a nursing home’s newsletter when I reach 110: “Last Surviving Woodstock Attendee: ‘It was a hot, muddy mess.’”

  1. 02/10/2025

    Chapter 38: Going Out on a High Note

    Senior year, I made the Dean’s list. I finally became the student my parents and teachers had been telling me I should have been all along. I was loaded up on English and history classes to finish my major and minor and those classes required my two strengths: […]

    23 min

  2. 09/27/2024

    Chapter 37: Bruce and Linda

    Hampden-Sydney had a great track record of booking musical acts before they burst onto the national scene. One year, the then little-known John Denver played at homecoming. Shortly after, he became the well-known John Denver. The previously well-known Chuck Berry who had large catalog of hits in the […]

    22 min

  3. 09/26/2024

    Chapter 36: The Ezra Show

    As a kid, I dreamed of getting a magic lantern and rubbing it to awaken the genie who could grant my wishes. Not surprisingly, I never got that magic lantern. But when I was 10, I got a magic box. It didn’t come cheap. It cost $10. I […]

    20 min

  4. 07/22/2024

    Chapter 35: I Make the Team

    Extracurricular activities had been my thing in high school. Hub of the action, the yearbook proclaimed. I had expected that would be the case in college, too. But, at Northeastern, it didn’t work out that way. There were no sports, clubs or organizations for me. Early on freshman […]

    22 min

  5. 07/22/2024

    Chapter 34: Road Tripping

    I was going to turn over a new leaf at my new school. Study first, then socialize. But I couldn’t help myself. During my first semester at Hampden-Sydney, that old leaf stayed put. I had never heard the term “road trip” before I moved south. I had grown […]

    11 min

  6. 07/22/2024

    Chapter 33: Socializing Before Studying … Again

    When school started, the fraternities started their pledge drives. All the frat houses were open every night after dinner and you could go by and meet the brothers. I had done this at Northeastern, pretending to be someone else. This time I went as myself. Harv and I […]

    9 min

  7. 07/22/2024

    Chapter 32: Southern Man

    The city of Boston was so vibrant, its pulse seemed to beckon me every time I stepped outside. That was a problem. I prioritized exploring the city more than exploring my studies. I went to my classes, yes, but rather than going to the library afterwards, I went […]

    13 min

  8. 05/21/2024

    Chapter 29: A Forgettable Fall

    My education for sophomore year had started earlier that summer.  That’s because Northeastern only offered dorms for first year men and then they were unleashed on the city to find their own room and board. I had spent just nine short months removed from the safety and security […]

    12 min
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5
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About

I’m one of 74,000,000 Baby Boomers. I am writing my life story (on my blog) and narrating it (here) because if I don’t, the only earthly notice of my middle-class, middle-American existence might be a feature story in a nursing home’s newsletter when I reach 110: “Last Surviving Woodstock Attendee: ‘It was a hot, muddy mess.’”

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