On Monday I will be 51 years old, and I'm a bit concerned. I'm not concerned about being over 50. I kind of saw that coming. I'm irritated about being labeled a "Baby Boomer." I don't think like a Boomer, I don't dress like a Boomer and that's because I am not a Baby Boomer.

The classic definition of a Baby Boomer is someone born between 1946 and 1965. It's meant to include the children of the Greatest Generation who fought WWII, saved the world and then came home, got married, used the GI Bill to go to college and buy a house, created the upper middle class and set about having babies to create the permanent Republican majority.

Real Baby Boomers came of age at a time when space travel was new, nuclear warfare was a real possibility and the Beatles shared the charts with Sinatra and Pat Boone. The rich ones joined the National Guard or got college deferments, and the rest were drafted and went to Vietnam. As a rule Boomers either wear sandals or hate people who wear sandals but, either way, most of them can roll a joint with one hand.

The next recognizable demographic consists of those born from 1965 to 1980, Generation X. Like the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers, they know they are a separate generation because they have their own cool name. GenXers were taught about Vietnam, the moon landing and Watergate in history class in high school. They are recognizable by tattoos, poor taste in music and the ability to program VCR's and cell phones. I own a VCR and a cell phone but I am not one of them.

I was born in 1957 and I am not a member of either of these groups. My parents were children during WWII and never saved the world from anything. They never fought Nazis, they never went to college or bought a house, they never reached the middle class but they did have babies. I remember Vietnam, the moon landing and Watergate, but I was too young to fight, fly or vote at the time so I didn't participate in any of those events.

I suggest that those of us born between 1955 and 1965 are a separate demographic and deserve a cool name of our own. We were too young to be hippies or go to Vietnam, too cool for disco and too smart for body piercing. We're more comfortable with technology than Boomers but not as good at it as the GenXers. We can use the contact list on our cell phones, but we need our kids to set it up for us.

A lot of cool stuff happened during the 10 years that separates us from the others. The T-Bird, the '57 Chevy and the Mustang hit the roads. Chuck Berry, the Beatles, the Stones, Johnny Cash and Elvis all had hit records. On the big screen James Bond and John Wayne dominated the movies, and we watched Bonanza and Huckleberry Hound on our new color TVs.

We came of age after Watergate with a healthy distrust of government, an unhealthy appetite for fast food and stereos that were equipped with turntables and cassette decks that were always played too loud. We were the generation of American bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Journey and The Eagles, and we loved every minute of it.

If the WWII folks are the Greatest Generation for winning the war and saving the world, then my generation is the Coolest Generation for inventing the air guitar and the beer bong. The Boomers may be much bigger than us, and the GenXers may be more technologically advanced, but we are the generation that just said no .... to the necktie! Nobody is more casual than the Coolest Generation.

We are the generation that gave up the business suit for the polo shirt, the martini for the margarita and the comb-over for the shaved head. I turn 51 on Monday, and I am more familiar with my recliner than my 401K ,and I own more Hawaiian shirts than I own stocks, but given what the Boomers have done to the market, I'm cool with that.

Rick Seley is a Fallon resident.