HATE! It’s So American
Every full-red-blooded American knows that if you can’t have it, hold it, be it, go for it, buy it, stomp on it, shred it, sell it, use it, forget about it, understand it, disagree with it, or dismiss it, you have to hate it. Grannie Ani gives you over 60 things to hate, some you may not have even thought of.
A Place For [Your] Mom
In just six years the “young-old", the Boomer generation–ages 66 to 84–and the “oldest old” born before 1946 [who, like me, will require additional expenditure] will number 70- million, making up over 20% of the entire population. Researchers and healthcare professionals call it “The 2030 Problem.” No shit!!! Calling the coming crisis in our healthcare system “a problem” is like calling lung cancer “a little breathing problem.”
Apathy or 25 Ways to Prove You Don’t Give A Shit
People with the social disease called Apathy have a long history of infecting others–family members, co-workers, neighbors and friends–with their negative “why bother” attitudes. Apathy, warns Grannie, could turn into an epidemic unless all concerned citizens learn to identify and unmask those carriers before they stop you from thinking straight.
“P” Is For Propaganda: Courting Public Opinion
Propaganda is the lip-smacking, foot-stompin’ booty-shaking cheerleader for war. Selling bullshit has been a money-making hustle since the first time oligarchs sent their serfs to shed blood for their real estate interests. Here Grannie Ani dissects the most successful and scandalous propaganda campaigns of the last 75 years.
Grannie Ani’s Job Forecast 2030
In only one U.S. presidential cycle, in the year 2030, the first crop of Baby Boomers, born between 1946 to 1954, [identified as Boomers I] will be close to, or looking back at age 80! Just think of the services they’ll require, many of which have yet to be invented or even imagined. Grannie Ani takes a swipe at ideas that could very likely become trendy in the very near future.
Welcome to the Anthropocene: A Woke Up Call Millennials, Zoomers and Generation Alpha born around the turn of the century are living in Cloud Cuckoo Land if they think that older Baby Boomers are going to cede power gracefully as did Silent Generation grandma and grandpa did for them. Our “Divide the Generations & Conquer Them All” Graph shows how powerful young generations could be if they only did the math.
When Kindergarten Was Fertile Soil for Racism: A Memoir
For younger generations who have to tolerate dad’s, uncle’s, or grandpa’s racist rants at every family get-together, just remember that your angry, old racist relative is reliving his childhood in the 1950s. And he just hasn’t yet come off the rug. Grannie Ani explains the phenomena in this humorous, yet touching recollection.
“Them’s Fightin’ Words”
Wars are fought over idioms and colorfully charged words. “Black Gold.” Wars are fought because of idiomatic words and phrases. “The Red Scare.” “The Iron Curtain.” Figures of speech shape our perception of people and events. Remember “Mushroom cloud”? You are bound to recognize many of the terms used in any military campaign. Sure, they get you fired up, but do you really know what they mean?
Sages From the Ages Have Their Say Today
What would Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall have said about his bro-judge Clarence Thomas? Grannie and I are betting that these heroes from the past would talk nonstop about what’s going on today.
An Open Letter to Tyra Banks
Until Tyra’s made-up word smize, meaning to smile with your eyes, is included in [America’s most trusted] Merriam-Webster dictionary, Granny Ani wants everyone to know the benefits of smizing for young and old alike. Her motto is: To smize is to feel alive in 2025.
Grannie Ani’s 20 Question Catechize for the Unwoke
Central to Grannie Ani’s idea of intergenerational compassion and cooperation is allowing older people with little or no empathy or tolerance for change to actually think about what they’re saying. Tickle ‘em with one or two questions in an informal setting. Then gradually unload the full catechize over a period of time.
Valagories
Valerie Shaw, for as long as I can remember, has made up quirky little sayings for her own amusement. It was at Grannie Ani’s urgings that I publish them. For decades I’ve been a journalist and an author, but today, in 2025, I am also an aphorist.
Vengeful Woman: A Poem
Thinking of having an affair or a fling outside your main relationship. Grannie gives you an eight word reminder of why that’s a bad idea.
The PreBoomer Generation Answers the Call
Please don’t confuse PreBoomers with the Baby Generation who had the good fortune to be born after World War II. Before Dr. Benjamin Spock turned the page on child care, the only book most parents consulted back in my day was the bible.
The Palestine We Thought We Knew
The result of what began in October 2023 as the Israel-Hamas War has morphed into the war on Palestine. In three annotated paragraphs Grannie Ani has some fresh insights on Palenstine property rights.
Ten Way to Determine the “Real Age”of A Baby Boomer
It’s not a revelation that many people of the Baby Boom generation refuse to give up their real age. Grannie Ani lets the secret out of the bag.
EXCLUSION by Obfuscation
When “old” Joe Biden trew in the towel, deciding not to run for re-election in 2024, I thought about my own vulnerabilities. I mean, jeez, we are the same age. I laugh and joke about my life as a PreBoomer, but before I put a lid on this hodgepodge, I’ve got to stir the pot with a few closing remarks just in case this short ebook of essays is my swan’s song.
Where Have All the Peace Songs Gone?
It is only in this, the 21st century, that music has not marked the events of our times. Love and longing are always a staple, as is the old familiar stab-in-the-back. But 70 years ago young folks were changing the world through their music.
FIGLISH: Reviving America’s Hybrid Language
Millions of Americans speak Yiddish, the colloquial mixture of German and Hebrew. Millions more speak Spanglish, the hybrid language of Spanish and English. But Figlish? Figlish is the combination of Figurative Language and English and it is our very own hybrid language.
Young People Must Rule: The Grannie Ani Gameplan
By the year 2030, with a statistical advantage of 3:1, young generations will be able to write their own ticket without begging Baby Boomers to be invited to their party.