Boomer Q and A:
Events taught man to challenge status quo
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20101212/WDH04/12120379/Boomer-Q-and-A-Events-taught-man-to-challenge-status-quo
By Keith Uhlig
December 12, 2010
Even though he's 58 years old, Dennis DeNuccio isn't sure he really
identifies with the baby boom generation.
Yes, he knows he's the right age, and with a father who was a World
War II veteran, he fits the classic definition of a baby boomer as well.
The generation encompasses so many people over a period of years, he
believes there really isn't one simple baby boom category. As an
older baby boomer, for example, his life experience is different than
a younger boomer.
But like many boomers, his life was touched by the sweeping
historical events of the era. He remembers coming home from school to
find his mother in tears on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
"It was just a sad time," DeNuccio said. "It was just a chaotic time."
Later, he worried about the Vietnam War, and saw other men of his
generation leave and not come home. DeNuccio first received a student
deferment to the draft, and later, when a form of lottery was used to
choose men for the draft, he had a high lottery number, so he was
never called up.
Although he wasn't an avid protester of the war, DeNuccio opposed it
and even participated in one anti-war march at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. Tear gas was used to disburse the marchers, and
DeNuccio got a small dose of the gas. "That was unpleasant. That's
one of the memories I take away," he said, with a chuckle. "But I
wasn't a hard-core demonstrator."
That stance puts him at odds with his father, who supported the war effort.
"It really divided the so-called baby boom generation from their
parents," DeNuccio said, "(The war) never seemed to end. ... It was a
different kind of war than World War II."
The experience "gave me a desire to investigate things further,"
DeNuccio said. "Not accept things, to question things, to challenge
things, to debate things and get different perspectives, too."
Question: Do you relate to some of the things associated with the
baby boomers -- the long-hair hippie movement, anti-war, rock 'n' roll, etc.?
Answer: Being from small-town Wisconsin (DeNuccio grew up in Stevens
Point), I don't think I was as involved in it as somebody from a
bigger city. I certainly identified with the sentiment. I think most
people of my age group, of my generation, opposed the war -- simply
because it was something we just couldn't comprehend. Here was this
war going on across the world and people dying, and it was us. It was
our age group, being sent over. And we were afraid. And it seemed to
go on and on.
Q: Are you contemplating retirement?
A: I think retirement, for our age group, will be a little bit
nontraditional, I would say. In my father's age, you turned 65 and
get the gold watch, you say good-bye and you're done with your job.
I'm looking at retirement as a job-reduction program. I'd like to
keep myself in my profession and still work in physical therapy, but
work perhaps part-time. That would leave myself other opportunities
to pursue more interests. I don't see at all, a traditional thing
where I don't work at all and I'm done.
Q: What do you feel is your greatest professional achievement?
A: I don't know if I have one specific achievement. I think I've been
able to help a lot of people, and improve my talents along the way,
and become more effective as a physical therapist.
Q: What is being an empty-nester like?
A: Certainly there was an initial time frame where it's difficult,
where you're changing your mindset from full-time, taking care of
your kids and helping them to grow and get their lives started, and
most of your activities are related to your children. Then all of a
sudden they're gone. ... But really I think my wife and I adjusted
pretty well. And we've been able to, I think, enjoy it. It gives you
more time to pursue your work and other activities. ... Having said
that, you still are a parent. It's just a new kind of phase of
parenting to enjoy.
Q: What do you look forward to the most?
A: I would like to move into a part-time situation, perhaps, and
pursue other interests. I like to run and bike and swim. I've been a
runner quite a few years, but I also in the last decade have become a
triathlete. I'd like to pursue those interests, and keep running, and
biking and training, staying active and healthy. ... I'd like to do
some traveling ... I'd like to pursue some volunteer activities.
.
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