All in all, I was pretty lucky to be born into Generation X.  I came of age in a time of peace and prosperity, I cast a vote for the first black President, I’ll probably live to see humans land on Mars, and in fifth grade gifted class we watched the shipwreck episode of “Voyage of the Mimi” and there was a scene where two teenage boys strip down and get under a blanket together to prevent hypothermia.

That said, I was such a nerd that I was more excited by the part where we learned how to desalinate seawater.