BABY BOOMER REVERIE: 1966

It was the early boomer tourist bible.

The hotel was a charming three story in the trendy, artsy Monmartre section of Paris, the location of so many movies of the times: An American in Paris, Gigi, Funny Face, Charade. Arthur Frommer highly recommended the residence. The 1965 edition warned that prices had risen a bit from his first book in 1957, and the new one had to be titled Europe on $5 and $10 a day. This destination, as usual in his listings, didn’t have private conveniences. At $6.50, it was one of the higher picks. You’d have to eat frugally, do a lot of walking and go to free museums to sneak in under $10 a day.

Obviously, the concept was geared to the younger generation, boomers who didn’t mind roughing it a bit on trips: cramped trains, cheap food, basic rooms—it was almost romantic.

A line started in the small lobby and snaked out to the street, everyone clutching the  bible. “We have un chambre left,” the hostess informed me.

“I’ll take it,” I chirped.

“Sans bain et toilet, tois floors, sans elevator.”

“C’est bon,” I said, practicing my French.

“Est petite.”

“C’est la vie,” I smiled with a wave of the hand.

“Le chambre est separated from the other chambres by les couvetures.”

I had to look up “couvetures.” It meant blankets. Twenty eager people stood behind me. There was a long line at my second choice across the street. The girl who just rented a room was awful cute.

“I’ll take it,” I said.

“45 francs, sil vous plait.”

I did a fast calculation. It was $9. “What about the $6.50 rate mentioned in the book?”

“Ah, oui, le livre. Well, you see we have much business from le livre, so we raise prices.”

The last edition in 2004 was entitled Europe on $85 a Day. Perhaps from nostalgia or limited means, aging baby boomers still buy it. Like its predecessors, le livre was obsolete soon after publication. What was intended to disclose little known bargains eliminated them as fast a speeding tourist.

BOOMER TRIVIA QUESTIONS

►One of these was not a foreign movie hit in the U.S. during the 1950s and 1960s:

Wild Strawberrys
And God Created Woman
Two Women
Eve and Eve
The Virgin Spring

►What did French President Charles de Galle do in 1966?

Ordered all American troops out of France.

Temporarily broke off diplomatic relations with U.S. over the bombing of North Vietnam.

For the first time, publically criticized U.S. for not urging the invasion of Nazi-held France earlier.

Prohibited Gunsmoke from French television.

►Currently, which one of these places is not in the top 5 most popular tourist destinations in America?

Times Square: New York City
Universal Studios: Hollywood
The Strip: Las Vegas
Disneyland: Florida
National Mall: Washington, D.C.

Answers to Boomer Trivia Questions at end of post

THIS DAY IN BABY BOOMERS HISTORY

2008 Bill Gates announces his resignation from Microsoft to focus on charity work.

1994 N.Y. Daily News increases its price to 50 cents.

1985 New York City suffers its first hotel strike.

A government agency de-certifies Route 66 as an official highway and orders all such signs removed.

1981 Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes is the #1 music hit.

1980 New Jersey graduates its first female state police candidates.

1979 Muhammad Ali retires as Heavyweight Champion.

The Supreme Court rules that employers may use hiring quotas to assist minorities.

1974 President Nixon visits the U.S.S.R.

Last Flip Wilson Show airs on television.

1973 John W. Dean reveals Nixon’s “enemies list” to the Watergate Committee.

1969 Police raid the gay Greenwich Village Stonewall Bar. Hundreds of patrons riot against against police, and the unrest continues for three days. The event is often cited as the beginning of the Gay Liberation movement.

1966 The first sci-fi soap opera, a gothic horror story premieres on television.

Illinois becomes the first state to legislate mandatory use of the seat belt.

1964 Jan and Dean release Little Old Lady From Pasadena.

1962 Ross Perot begins his soon-to-be highly successful company, Electronic Data Systems.

1959 West Side Story closes on Broadway after 734 performances.

1955 The television debut of the Julius LaRosa Show.

1950 As North Koreans troops reach Seoul in the South, President Truman orders the Air Force and Navy into the war.

1949 Captain Video and His Video Rangers debuts on DUMONT-TV

ANSWERS TO TODAY’S BOOMER TRIVIA QUESTIONS

►In 1966, the French government withdrew from the NATO command structure and “requested” that all American troops stationed on French soil depart tout suite. Merci, et au revoir.

►Eve and Eve was never a film.

►Universal Studios in Hollywood ranks #17.