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The Lost Generation?

posted on March 8, 2009

I woke up this morning to find my name on the front page of the Boston Globe in an article title The Loss Generation.

March 8, 2009 Boston Globe Front Page

What bothers me is while the article got all the facts right, it feels to me as if it is an overly negative article. Just look at the sub-headline which in my mind is completely false. Yes, me and my roommates (and others our age) have all been through some rough times and are going through them right now along with everyone else, but all of us were very optimistic and up beat when we did the interviews. All four of us in the article are actually very hopeful.

I worked hard (and continue to do so). Lived within my means and Laura and I made some very tough, but appropriate decisions throughout our life together. None of this made it into the article. It felt like they were trying to showcase some bad decisions made, and I’m not going to speak for my roomies, but I will say that I don’t regret any decision I’ve made in relation to the topics of this article.

Right now is a tough time for a lot of people and I had hoped that this article was going to showcase how different the paths the four of our lives have taken, but how we’ve all come to a point in our lives where we are happier then we’ve ever been. Sure, things are not as great as they could be right now, but we’re also positive of where our lives are going.

I grew up with a humble upbringing and that has always kept me grounded to this day. Throughout the ups and downs I’ve always made sure to keep grounded. I’ve worked my tail off to provide for my family and none of it has come easy and I’m ok with that. I never thought any of it would come easy.

Maybe I’m reacting this way because I’ve been sick all weekend and am still not feeling quite right. We just need more optimism in the world right now and this article didn’t give me what I had hoped for. Again, maybe I’m just a bit grumpy from being sick, but I’d be the last person to call myself or any of my friends in the article as “lost.”

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Categories: Rambles
  • http://www.adelemcalear.com Adele McAlear

    CC – Congratulations for being on the front page of the Boston Globe. After reading the piece, I can see how you would be frustrated by the tone the article took because it was on the doom and gloom side, not at all your attitude in life. Like we were discussing the other day, you are a glass-half-full kind of man. I’d much rather be around that attitude than the inverse in bad times. Here’s to optimism and no regrets!

  • http://www.twitter.com/MaryFlaherty Mary Flaherty

    I read the Boston Globe article this morning and thought “Hmm, probably not what CC is expecting.” Through the lens of your tweets, blog posts, and speaking engagements, I see you as a very can-do and optimistic sort of guy … definitely not at a loss!

  • http://www.realmendriveminivans.com PJ Mullen

    Knowing all four of you I agree that they missed the essence of who you all are, especially you CC. Personally, I think that these traditional media outlets like the Globe are clinging to what has worked in the past with all this doom and gloom, sky is falling charade. It is disappointing that they can’t present the facts: things were good, things went kind of bad, but you four are and will continue to find a way to make the best of it. I’m sure that if you cut through the sound bytes they presented you’d find much more optimism, or at the very least a positive mindset that while things may not be great today that tomorrow holds promise.

  • http://hightalk.wordpress.com/ George Snell

    Hi C.C.:
    I was wondering if that was “you” in the article or some other C.C. Chapman. Not to be a nitpicker, but the article was called “The Loss Generation” – a take-off on “The Lost Generation,” which Hemingway and Fitzgerald wrote about in the 1920s (the generation devastated by the Great War). But I digress.

    It’s not a surprise from the Globe these days. I found the article overly generalized. You have a reason to be upset by it.

    But all you need to know about the Globe these days can be found in today’s edition as well – the story about Twitter in the Money & Career section. The Globe finally discovered it and wrote a marginal story that didn’t even try to explore the business and social implications of Twitter, instead focusing on if the company would ever make money. Instead of interviewing businesses using the platform and why its part of a new movement in corporate communications – the Globe interviewed a bunch of VCs.

    Ugh!

  • http://www.cc-chapman.com C.C.

    Thanks for that catch George. I can tell I’m not feeling well if I mess that up. But, I’ll leave the title of the post as is because I think it fits with what they were trying to get across.

    Glad people who know me are agreeing that they were a little surprised by the article. I’m also glad to know that those of you who have read it don’t think I’m over reacting.

    As my daughter recently asked, “why does the news only talk about bad things?” A very good question indeed!

  • http://hightalk.wordpress.com/ George Snell

    Well, I can answer that question as well. I was a newspaper reporter for more than a decade. Newspapers don’t write about the ordinary – they write about the unusual. That tends to be bad news. So it isn’t news when a husband loves his wife, but it is news when he kills her. Because that’s unusual.

    But to be fair to the media (and newspapers specifically), before the crash they were the biggest cheerleaders of the economy. So they will write nice things. You’re also forgetting entire sections devoted to good news: sports, food, entertainment, etc.

    It’s also tough for reporters to condense long interviews into a few graphs and retain the full spirit of the content. So you’re not alone in disliking the way you’re portrayed in the press. I write about this a bit here:

    http://tinyurl.com/aa42zg

    But, hey, good picture!

  • josh

    I dunno. You come across as pretty negative in this post. That fit the tone of the article.

  • http://www.manicmommies.com Kristin – Manic Mommies

    Unfortunately, the facts are what the facts are. Housing values are down. Retirement plans have taken a huge hit (I’m ignoring my 401k). Consumer confidence has tanked. And your story on paper – two mortgages, taking a loss on the first house, no retirement savings – looks grim. I saw the story this morning and felt terrible for you and Laura!

    What the story doesn’t take into account is the Chapman attitude I’ve come to know and love. The reporter probably had no way to how you always seem to be looking at the bright side – family, friends, music, art, new opportunities – and always have a smile on your face.

    And without talking to others, she also had no way of knowing your that enthusiasm keeps us (well, me) feeling more positive.

    Feel better CC, and don’t fret about the story. It’s just not worth it.

  • Jim Spoto

    Great post CC – I agree with you 100%.

    I hate that people read the article and are led to think we are feeling sorry for our respective situations and that we have it so bad. “Woe-is-us” is NOT what any of the four of us wanted people to take away from this article. Markets go up and markets go down. We’ve seen 2 ups and 2 downs in 15 years. That’s not unusual. We have all worked hard to get what we have, and no one ever wants to see any of it go away. In the end we have our health, our families and our jobs/careers. And for this we are all greatful and expressed that to the reporter.

    We all came from modest families where we learned to work hard and enjoy life. I think we have all succeeded, regardless of what is in our bank accounts.

  • Greg Maynard

    I find it kinda funny that more people will read these posts on CC’s page than will the reading subscriber base of the Globe.

    All data was accurate (except for the town I live in and the fact that we were OF COURSE playing Pitch and not poker) but what was left out was the crux of the article to me.

    There is no straight lines in life. When you graduate from college you have expectations of achieving certain levels of success, whether they be in work, family, or any other part of your life. We all are NOW in good places, for being 14 years out of Bentley. How we got there was not very “normal” (except for Jim, but what do you expect from a top 10 in our graduating class, pass the CPA all four parts first time?). The fact that we are where we are, with the families we have, with the experiences we have been able to live through is pretty darn incredible in my book.

    In the article, many will look at the income I once made and the investments I once had and may have some weird opinions and comments. But, now, getting away from the high flyer life to be able to actually be around for the kids and wife when she needs to do things she wants to, I would not trade it for all the sheckles in the world.

    I think this article, if read right, will help some of those going through some of the issues we dealt with over the last few years and for that it is worth the ridiculous postings and comments that will come our ways.

    We were not trust fund babies that got college handed to them on a silver platter and then went to work for our parents firms. We are hard workers, we did well and we had our collapses. But I think we are survivors and glad we are still very good friends.

    Who’s up for a Star Market run at Midnight?

    Greg

  • http://www.financialaidpodcast.com Christopher Penn, Financial Aid Podcast

    The key point in there was the last quote. This *is* our 1929, even more so. This is our Great Depression, or Great Recession as the snarky are calling it. The realities of the economy are that it’s going to grind a lot of people into dust…

    … and if you make it through, you have a lot to look forward to. Look at the sustained growth from about 1950 – 1970 and you see opportunity for significant, sustainable growth – at the cost of a World War, true, but the growth was there nonetheless.

    In the midst of all this is another lesson: if you’re the best at what you do, good or bad times, you will be okay.

  • http://www.garylombardo.com Gary Lombardo

    Congrats on making it on the front page…Just my humble opinion, but I don’t think the article was too negative on you or the others….I think it’s refreshing to get some insight into how the downturn is impacting young people– I can definitely relate to the sentiment of the article, being directly impacted like you and others by this downturn. It is frustrating when you make all the right moves and do what you’re “supposed to do” when you graduate college, that you implicitly get punished. I’m at the point where I swear I won’t invest in a 401K for a long time to come– call me stupid if you want, but since I entered the workforce full time, I’ve nothing but contributed the max and lost everything. Nonetheless, I remain optimistic and am grateful for having what I got. I think ultimately you’re expressing the same sentiment.

  • http://prwdot.org/ Peter R. Wood

    I’m with Gary… I think the article has provided some good insight into the lives of people affected by economic downturn, and at the very least will give readers some confidence that they’re not alone in their troubles. It would have been good to end the article on an optimistic note, and perhaps it was in the original version. But bad news tends to sell papers, so maybe some editor axed it…