Skokie Baby Boomers-Share Your Experiences for Upcoming Book!

Writing a book is one of the most difficult thing I've ever done - including having my first son at home by mistake, a surprise birthday-wedding and a couple of other unusually complex life stories.

Once Upon Our Times (because life isn't a fairy tale): 65 Years Growing Up Baby Boomer is turning out to feature so many eye-opening historical events and nostalgic memories of times gone by. The research alone frequently brings me to the Skokie library and to my e-mail accounts, writing to people all across America for their take on milestones and challenges in their lives.

It also has many personal anecdotes about growing up baby boomer between 1946 and today. And since we've decided to add more pages, chapters and loads of photographs (some personal, some historical), we've extended the pub date to about March of 2012 to get things completely right.

I'm glad I realized that most big-time authors (which Cookie Horowitz and I are not) have assistants, researchers, and extra helpers.  As I look around my basement office, I really can't see any of those.  It's just Cookie, myself and I. (Sometimes I'm redundant)

We have an amazing, unique chapter we're calling "Against the Norm," people who have written to us and been fearlessly describing their differences from typical baby boomers - if there's such a thing. I ran into Rene, one of Cookie's interviews, at a book publishing party about 20 miles away.  Rene is transgendered - but still married to her/his wife of 25 years. She writes an eloquent essay about being born in the wrong body, but accepting her fate as both a man and a woman (because she is not completely either/or). Yet she lives a fairly normal life, with some exceptions. And she was the most popular person at the party!

We invite our Skokie and Chicagoland residents to share your stories with us.

Some of these stories could be about living in a multi-generational neighborhood; being a different religion than your neighbors and how that's going (any Muslims or Buddhists reading this, your comments especially welcome); raising your children the same or differently than you were brought up; and challenges and successes you've had that make you special. Were you forced into retirement? Would you work now if there were jobs available? Are you thinking about beginning a new business (and what is your age?) Are you single in your sixties - and dating again? Is it hard moving into a new neighborhood and making friends?

You can send your comments to emhsclassof1965@gmail.com or send us your name and number plus best time to call you. If you'd like to receive our final newsletter before we publish, send us your e-mail address along with your real name, which will not be shared with anyone else.

Sometimes, I lapse into thinking about the future, after the book is published.  I think of Cookie and I on book tours or an interview with Regis Philbin, wherever he goes next.  I imagine myself in a short mini-dress or a sack dress, my hair flipped out or teased into a crown four-feet high chatting with Matt, Dave or Jay.  I think of myself at the local supermarket, with six copies of the book to sell while I'm on the checkout line.

And then reality sets in.

It's time to go back to the chapter I'm writing about each teenage decade - what we wore, how we talked in slang, the games we played, dating, hobbies, our experiences during those years, etc.

I have to admit it.  That seems like such a long time ago.

And one last request: If you're planning to buy the book, we'd love you to pre-order it as we're still raising some financial funds to edit, layout, design, print and bind the  first printing. You can do that at www.onceuponourtimes.com or make a donation to our fundraising campaign (from $1 up; $50 or more gets you an autographed Free book) at www.indiegogo.com/babyboomerbook .

For more about this upcoming book, please visit www.onceuponourtimes.com