Boomer Boys and the Men They Became

What became of Boomer boys? Writer and Baby Boomer Phil Perkins highlighted the elements that made the man he became and speculated that those elements influenced other Boomer men. Was he right?

This all began as a grand experiment. At least in my mind. You see, I’m a child of the ’50s and ’60s and all that implies. I grew up during the birth of rock and roll, the Eisenhower era and Camelot. During a time of both utopia and turmoil. Like everyone else I suffered through JFK’s assassination, reveled at the moonwalk, cheered Joe Namath’s braggadocio, and initially laughed at the “hippies.” That is to say, initially.

Looking back on that incredible time, I felt as though I had to delve into the factors that played into what made me the man I am today. And what am I? I suppose you would say I am a fairly well-adjusted, happily married senior man, relatively successful business owner, an author and sometime rock musician.

I recently had an epiphany that two factors played heavily in how I grew and developed and even how I viewed the world. Fear and prestige.

So, let’s look back at my upbringing. As the band Men at Work described, my father was “six foot four and full of muscles.” As such, he presented a symbol of fear for everyone in our family. Not that he ever physically assaulted me, but that possibility and his endless anger seemed to loom large.

And I was always chasing the prestige of dressing the college prep image and dating the right girl in high school. College took a totally different turn.

Being myopic, I thought all Boomer men grew up that way. I started the grand experiment to find out. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

Three men who were once Boomer boys

Meet Lawrence Young of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, whom I interviewed by phone on a cool, sunny spring day. I wish I could have been in his beautiful city. Oh well.

Lawrence grew up in what he would later call an “other than normal” or perhaps dysfunctional household in Quebec. Unlike other young men of the time who were dealing with domineering fathers, Lawrence called his father Ely “voiceless” while his mother was abrupt and demanding.

By age 14 he could no longer tolerate the situation and left home. His kind and nurturing father convinced him to return, but by 17 Lawrence left for good. Largely a self-starter, Lawrence began a long and rewarding academic career that would ultimately lead to success in the business world. Not much influenced by the counterculture so prevalent at the time, he nonetheless financed much of his education playing in a rock band.

A defining moment in his life was the loss of his troubled sister by suicide at age 29. Lawrence used that to steady his resolve.

He went on to teach at both McGill and Concordia universities, work at large consulting firms, and start his own successful consulting business in Montreal, which is still active today. He also serves as an expert witness in lawsuits involving information systems.

Interestingly enough, Lawrence has returned to playing drums in a rock band in his spare time. Here’s a fun fact about Lawrence. His cousin was Zal Yanovsky, late of The Lovin’ Spoonful. Yanovsky is the original family name.

Hmmm. Lawrence’s early life certainly wasn’t much influenced by fear and prestige. Let’s move on.

Now please meet Bob Deans of Bethesda, Maryland. During our interview, and contrary to the domineering father concept, Bob relished telling me about his early experiences fishing with his father. It began when he was about 4 years old and continued for many years. His father taught him more than fishing skills. He discussed nature and even life itself. While not a college-educated man himself, he insisted Bob pursue a higher education.

Partially due to his father’s coaching, Bob believed in “independence through income” and early on took up a paper route. That led to an early interest in the newspaper business and later journalism in general.

Bob did his father’s bidding and went to college. However, he admits he was a bad student. Like Lawrence he partially paid his way by playing music regularly at a nearby nightclub. Bob somehow got through school, though, and ended up writing for several noted newspapers.

He spent three decades with “The Post and Courier” in Charleston, South Carolina, and “The Atlanta Journal Constitution” in Georgia and ended up spending eight years covering the White House. He then became the president of the White House Correspondents Association.

Bob now works with the National Resources Defense Council, whose work is even more important and difficult in the current political climate.

Again, Bob’s upbringing doesn’t fit my “model.” Nurturing father. Self-starter. Let’s move on anyway.

Meet David Bobrowitz of Richmond, Virginia. David grew up in upstate New York and moved to the borough of Queens when he was 10. His dad, a doctor, was a quiet man but physically imposing and quite athletic. David didn’t remember necessarily fearing his father but was none too excited about taking up his father’s favorite pastime of boxing.

Nonetheless, his father pressed him to take lessons and in due course set up a match with the son of a local semi-pro boxer. David was knocked out with one good punch. His dad gave up after that, much to his son’s relief.

David’s father worked many hours away from home. In his absence the young man developed a lifelong love for music, sitting under his mother Thelma’s piano listening to her practice. Thelma herself was a Juilliard graduate.

A heritage of education was part of his upbringing and, like his sisters, Marian and Ruth, going to university was never simply an option. David earned a Bachelor of Science degree from The Mannes College of Music and a Master of Arts from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Now an accomplished composer, teacher, and performer, David has written and published over 300 works, including pieces for concert band, string orchestra, and chorus. As a composer David had his first major success with the choral work “The Creation (A RockCantata),” which he co-wrote with Steven Porter. Subsequently, “The Creation” was toured nationally by The Norman Luboff Choir and published by Mr. Luboff’s company.

I’m going to keep on looking, but so far I’ve struck out. Surely my upbringing is not unique to me. In any case, here is an early, nonscientific observation. Note that all of the men I interviewed had, and to some degree still have, a connection to music, as do I. Maybe it’s the Boomer generation. Maybe it’s the creative mind. Something to think about. In any case I think all of these guys turned out just fine, don’t you? We’ll see what happens as I expand my selection methods to more subjects. And who knows, maybe there’s a book here. Now that’s a thought.

Phil Perkins is a writer, business owner, and musician who was one of the Boomer boys. He lives in Richmond and on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, with his wife, Sandi, and two pups named Skippy and Jeter. He is the author of several business books, two novellas about a legendary surfer in the 1960s, and novels about a retired detective living in the Low Country.