Good cracker
On embracing the fact we've become the elders
I reached in the cupboard tonight for a snack and realized I only had a sleeve of Ritz Crackers. Good ol’ Ritz. We’ve come a long way. I’m sure you remember when Andy Griffith, the most wholesome of character actors (who had his own down-home show, set in Mayberry, North Carolina - the most American place in America) appeared in a 1977 commercial for Ritz Crackers.
“Mmmm,” he says, taking a bite. “Good cracker.”
And that damned commercial still lives in my head in 2025.
Being born in the 1960s, then raised on television and popular culture in the 70s gives those of us in this age bracket a common point of reference. There were shows that everyone watched – from the Partridge Family to Happy Days to The Love Boat, along with the same commercial jingles, like Coke’s “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”, or “My baloney has a first name, it’s…” These memories probably occupy a quarter of my brain.
While today many of your friends might have all watched Game of Thrones or Sex in the City, back then EVERYBODY watched the same shows. So, when you bring up common shows or commercials back then, we immediately get it, we Generation Jones/Xers. This is the barrel from which we pull our comedic riffs and cultural references, many of which were channeled to and from Seinfeld and Friends. And this also is the common language we use to compare “now” versus “then.” You know, like when our parents used to refer to Bob Hope or Glenn Miller.
We’ve become our parents, grandparents. The elders.
We’ve shifted from being the young and cocky trend-setters to a vestige of the past. It’s hard to imagine, from a time when we thought being into the Sex Pistols, Zeppelin or Loverboy was the most hip, progressive thing imaginable. Now, we’ve seen the eighties mocked, in modern culture. And we pretend that it was a joke back then too – you know, the big hair, the shoulder pads, the baggy pants, the moustaches. But pssst… You and I both know that back then it wasn’t meant to be funny. We thought we looked good.
“Hey good-lookin’”, said the guy in the Mr. Microphone by Ronco commercial (1978). “We’ll be back to pick you up later!”
That, I imagined, is how you approached a girl. From a commercial. And so I didn’t. That is how effective marketing is to a young, impressionable teen. One who doesn’t understand he’s being manipulated.
But regardless of how each of us got to this point, it’s time to face the facts. It’s our job to be the elders that we have become, and be the best versions of that we can be.
Historically, in indigenous cultures, elders were venerated for their wisdom, perspective and life experience. If for no other reason than they didn’t die earlier. In church communities, elders have often formed a counsel to help a congregation stay true to its purpose. In a family, it may be to help grandkids hit a ball or learn how to become a gentleman (yes, open the door for her.)
We can all find ways to provide guidance or counsel, where the life experience we’ve accumulated might benefit another person. Not unsolicited. I’m saying just keep your head up and look around to find ways that may satisfy your intellectual and spiritual longings. Only you know what that is for you. It might be to be an active parent or grandparent, docent, volunteer, AA sponsor, church leader, coach, or mentor. Maybe it means to read books at a library, create a Youtube channel on how to fix a tire, or write Substack articles on how to grow old gracefully.
If you’re at or near my age, I guarantee you have experience of value to someone else (unless you’ve lived your life in a bunker, but even then, you would still have loads of knowledge about things like preparing freeze-dried foods.) No longer do we need to compete with younger people for attention, validation or clicks.
It’s time to turn the keys over to the kids. Let them figure out their own lives. Give them space. Let them fall on their faces a few times. Just be there. They’ll need you when they need you.
Once you embrace the reality of where you are, you’ll realize you and I live in the Golden Age right now. Health, wealth, the ability to travel, and to do the things you used to say you’d do, back when you were 21. Yes, you can.
Stop it - YES. YOU. CAN.
Embrace your age. Enjoy and celebrate this point in your life.
Be an elder. Be the best f’ing elder you can.
