Generations, Inc.: From Boomers to Linksters—Managing the Friction Between Generations at Work

CHAPTER  1

Signposts: Harbingers of Things to Come

“Life is rather like a tin of sardines—we’re all of us looking for the key.”

—Alan Bennett, British author, actor, humorist, and playwright

 

Meagan Remembers

When I was six years old, I went to the grocery store with my father. He bought an item priced at $1.69, but the cashier misread it and only charged him 69 cents. (This was 1976. Scanners had yet to be invented, and cashiers manually entered prices.) My father alerted her to her mistake. She thanked him and charged him the extra dollar.

I was dumbfounded! At the time, my weekly allowance was a dollar. My father had just thrown away what it took me a week to earn. So I said, “Dad, that was dumb. All you had to do was keep your mouth shut ...