This is an unusual edition of the Socotra House Daily. it begins with an apology for allowing the past catch up to us as the future arrives. Some of the Boomers in the group are now proud grandparents of some attractive “Gen A” kids, and that is what started the discussion, since we didn’t know what to call them. Gen Alpha made sense, since the colorful names were already taken and Holly honestly had no idea she was a Gen X, thinking she had been a Generation Millennial.

Those of us who had kids of our own assumed they were the Millennials, since that was about the time all the procreating happened.

Our supposition ha been that on a logical basis, Boomers would be followed by turn of the century folks, which is close enough to have worked for a quarter century. We discovered, courtesy of an irate call to the Socotra Help Desk that The Internet Was Wrong.

We were presented with the graphic above and this list, copied direct from the Internet, which as you know is mostly correct most of the time.

Here is what the digital people says about things. We are not confused about Boomers since our leadership is mostly Baby Boomers, and except for Melissa is all male, and mostly white in coloration. You can see the problems with the diversity quotas that impacted education and business starting in about 2016. Which woul make that (1946-1964), Gen X (1965-1980), Millennials (1981-1996), and Gen Z (1997-2012) are the main generational cohorts, with specific years varying slightly by source, but generally defining ages from late 50s/early 60s (Boomers) to teens/early 20s (Gen Z) in late 2024/2025, with Gen Alpha following Gen Z.

Here’s a breakdown of the common ranges, with ages approximate for late 2024/early 2025:

Baby Boomers: Born 1946–1964 (Ages ~60-79)

Generation X (Gen X): Born 1965–1980 (Ages ~44-59)

Millennials (Gen Y): Born 1981–1996 (Ages ~28-43)

Generation Z (Gen Z): Born 1997–2012 (Ages ~12-27)

Generation Alpha (Gen Alpha): Born 2013–2024 (Ages ~0-12)

Key Takeaway for the irate callers: While exact years can shift by a year or two (not a decade) depending on the source (like Pew Research vs. others). Accordingly, these ranges offer a generally reliable guideline for understanding these major demographic groups, which corrected the Gen X problem and placed Gen Z in proper order in the hierarchy. We honestly had no idea that the Millennium cohort was also “Gen Y.”

That solved some of our confusion, since that makes sense once we realized We should have given the Greatest and the Boomers some alphabetical nomenclature.

We put aside a book we had been working on in 2012 when the generation died that fought the wars, established America as a Superpower, and did their procreating for Splash, Rocket, Melissa and Vic. The problem with that book is one to which this may serve as an informal introduction as Miles- who is the closest to the Generation before the Boomers we have at the Conference Table. So, with respect we will call all those deceased Gens “The Greatest” and we have agreed to keep it that was.

The reason we put things aside? Easy. It was a year of funerals. First was Rear Admiral Mac Showers, then Vice Admiral Rex Rectanus, who has his own unpublished account of how things went down in Vietnam. Then some parents took the train south, and we waved their farewells with respect and honor.

It did not occur to us at the time that when Jinny Martin. Rex’s later years companion after both their Gen Greatest spouses passed. We had opened the Socotra Doors to accommodate her- and our- desire for adult company. It was great, but when she departed, there was a quiet moment around the table.

With her passing, the Gen Greatest was all gone. That is not to say that there is not a few people who landed on the Normandy Beaches. There was a report in the news the other day of a World War One Vet who just passed. We will not attempt to name his Gen, except suggest “The Gen Before the Greatest.”

We are pleased to be handing all this over to Gen Alpha. Now that we know who they are. We found it on the Internet, you know? They will get to call their kids and grand kids as Bravo and Charlie.

Unless they object to that. Something may happen to define their times. Now that the shock of realizing how the generations change, we are going to go back and finish “Long Shadows,” the book we did with Rex Rectanus. We are confident the “Boomer” term will apply to us when Gen X and the Millennial start running things. It may be said with a little contempt for the mess we are leaving them and Gen Z. But they can’t write yet.

Or, better said, they have not asked their AI program on the computer to do it for them.

Copyright 2025 Vic Socotra

http://www.vicsocotra.comw