Generation X is often known, or at least broadly categorized, as the middle child of generations. So many of us kept our heads down as we latch-keyed ourselves into empty homes to make Pop Tarts for dinner. Sure, we sometimes side-eyed our elders, but when we were criticized, our “Who cares?” response exemplified the cynical, proverbial shrug heard all through the ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s.

It’s almost a rite of passage for a generation to be besmirched by those who came before them. But when an older man went on a TikTok rant about Millennials and Gen Z in 2019, many of them didn’t take it especially well. The term “OK boomer,” though coined years earlier, went viral.

Gen X version of ‘Okay, Boomer’

Entrepreneur and mental health advocate Rafella Mancuso seems to have had it with Gen X. In recent post on Threads, Mancuso wanted to know what one might say to an X-er that was the equivalent of “OK boomer.” They wrote, “What’s the ‘Okay, boomer’ equivalent for Gen X? Because they’re p—ing me off.” What they perhaps didn’t anticipate in the responses was an entire generation that’s known for not caring, caring just enough to share their thoughts.

The query received nearly 12,000 comments in just four days. In fact, one person even took the time to write a “community note,” and they didn’t hold back: “Did your therapist tell you that Gen X cares about your feelings? That’s adorable.”

Some of the other comments were also on fire.

@nbcsnl “Ok boomer” – Randy the Intern (jk, Kylo Ren) ♬ Randy the Intern – Saturday Night Live

“Ok boomer” – Randy the Intern (jk, Kylo Ren) ♬ Randy the Intern – Saturday Night Live

Sounds like a ‘you’ problem

“Sounds like a ‘you’ problem,” someone else comments. This one works on two levels: An apt Gen-X response to the OP’s question, and our version of “OK, boomer” back in the day.

This Threader didn’t hold back, writing in part: “We’re latchkey kids who grew up with the Cold War, asbestos ceilings, and landlines. We have 0 fks to give about who is pissed off at us because we used them all up in the ’80s worrying about quicksand and the Bermuda Triangle. Now…share your phone number so we can prank call you.”

Another tried to gently explain to the OP why they shouldn’t bother messing with us. “The thing about boomers is they get mad when you say ‘OK boomer,’ so that is satisfying to you. Gen X has zero Fs to give…So my advice is to say whatever makes you feel better because we truly, I promise you, don’t care.”

“Oh no, a random person on the Internet is mad at an entire generation for some unknown reasons. I guess I’ll just listen to the entire Nevermind album and not cry myself to sleep,” wrote another.

This person seems pleased with the thousands of answersL “Checks comments. Sees my fellow Gen X-ers already have it covered. Nods and scrolls on.”

One person notes that Gen X doesn’t need memes to be snappy. “Gen X doesn’t crowdsource insults. We freestyle them.”

And lastly, a Threader decided to use the king of Gen X dialogue, quoting the great John Hughes film The Breakfast Club: “The correct response is: Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?”

While a bottle of bubbles might seem out of place in a hospital setting, you might be surprised to learn that, for thousands of children around the world born with cleft lip and palate, they can be a helpful tool in comprehensive cleft care. Lilia, who was born with cleft lip and palate in 2020, is one of the many patients who received this care. 

As a toddler, Lilia underwent two surgeries to treat cleft lip and palate with Operation Smile’s surgical program in Puebla, Mexico. Because of Operation Smile’s comprehensive care, it wasn’t long before her personality transformed: Lilia went from a quiet and withdrawn toddler to an exuberant, curious explorer, babbling, expressing herself with a variety of sounds, and engaging with others like any child her age. 

Lilia is now a healthy five-year-old, with the same cheerful attitude and boundless energy. Her progress is the result of care at every level, from surgery to speech therapy to ongoing support at home—but it’s also evidence that small, sustained interventions throughout it all can make a meaningful difference. 

Cleft Conditions: A Global Problem

Since 1982, Operation Smile has provided cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries to more than 500,000 patients worldwide with the help of generous volunteers and donors. Cleft conditions are congenital conditions, meaning they are present at birth. With cleft lip and palate, the lip or the roof of the mouth do not form fully during fetal development. Cleft conditions put children at risk for malnutrition and poor weight gain, since their facial structure can make feeding challenging. But cleft conditions can have an enormous social impact as well: Common difficulties with speech can leave kids socially isolated and unable to meet the same developmental milestones as their peers. 

Surgery is a vital step in treating cleft conditions, but it’s also just one part of a much larger solution. Organizations like Operation Smile emphasize the importance of multi-disciplinary teams that provide comprehensive, long-term care to patients across many years. This approach, which includes oral care, speech therapy, nutritional support, and psychosocial care, not only aids in physical recovery from surgery but also helps children develop the skills and confidence to eat easily, speak clearly, and engage in everyday life. This ensures that each patient receives the full range of support they need to thrive. 

A Playful (and Powerful) Solution

Throughout a patient’s care, simple tools like bubbles can play a meaningful role from start to finish. 

Immediately before surgery, children are often in a new and unfamiliar environment far from home, some of them experiencing a hospital setting for the first time. When care providers or loved ones blow bubbles, it’s a simple yet effective technique: Not only are the children soothed and distracted, the bubbles also help create a sense of joy and playfulness that eases their anxiety. 

In speech therapy, bubbles can take on an even more important role. Blowing bubbles requires controlled airflow, as well as the ability to form a rounded “O” shape with the lips, which are skills that children with cleft conditions may struggle to develop. Practicing these skills with bubbles allows children to gently strengthen their facial muscles, improve breath control, and support the motor skills needed for speech development. Beyond that, blowing bubbles can help kids connect with their parents or providers in a way that’s playful, comforting, and accessible even for very young patients. 

Finally, bubbles often follow patients with cleft conditions home in the “smile bags” that each patient receives when the surgical procedure is finished. Smile bags, which help continue speech therapy outside of the hospital setting, can contain language enrichment booklets, a mirror, oxygen tubing, and bubbles. While regular practice with motor skills can help with physical recovery, small acts of play help as well, giving kids space to simply enjoy themselves and join in on what peers are able to do.

Bubbles at Home and Beyond

Today, because of Operation Smile’s dedication to comprehensive cleft care, Lilia is now able to make friends and speak clearly, all things that could have been difficult or impossible before. Instead of a childhood defined by limitation, Lilia—and others around the world—can look forward to a childhood filled with joy, learning, discovery, friends, and new possibilities.  

CTA: Lilia’s life was changed for the better with the care she received through Operation Smile. Find out how you can make an impact in other children’s lives by visiting operationsmile.org today. 

Everyone has bad days, even world class athletes. Any number of circumstances can cause someone who’s been training their entire life to simply miss the moment; be it physical, mental, or just plain bad luck.

It happened to Simone Biles when she got the the “twisties” and became disoriented in the air during what should have been a pinnacle moment in her Olympic career. It happened to golfer Greg Norman when he squandered an unprecedented six-stroke lead at the 1996 Masters in a stunning collapse.

The best athletes, and people, aren’t defined by perfection, however. They’re defined by what they do after they fail.

Bowler Tom Daugherty puts on one of the worst performances of all time

Bowling, while not a premier sport in the minds of most viewers, comes with a ton of pressure. It’s a highly technical sport where being just a millimeter or a fraction of a second off in your technique can be disastrous.

Tom Daugherty found this out firsthand in what has became a legendary game…but not legendary for the reasons he’d like.

In 2011, Daugherty faced off with Mike Koiveniemi in a semifinal match of the PBA Tournament of Champions. The event was televised, and the pressure was high. Luck, however, was not on Daugherty’s side that day. He rolled his way into every conceivable bad split you could possibly imagine.

The round was a nightmare, and Daugherty found himself facing his final shot of the night with a score under 100. His opponent, meanwhile, finished with a 299—nearly a perfect game. For reference, a 70-100 is roughly an achievable score for people who only bowl a few times per year and are not trained at all in form and technique. Yikes.

When Daugherty’s last shot connected, it put his final score at 100 exactly: triple digits. He reacted by running around and high-fiving the crowd, determined not to let himself get down.

His 199-point loss is one of the worst margins in professional bowling history, and his score of 100 is the lowest that’s ever been televised.

Daugherty did not let the humiliation define him, and came back stronger

Through it all, Tom Daugherty kept an impressive sense of humor about what could have been the greatest failure of his career, to date.

As the third place winner in the tournament, he won $50,000. He joked that he was excited to have won “$500 per pin.”

Later, he was quoted as saying: “That 100 game was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have no problem with it. No one would remember me if I hadn’t bowled that game.”

The positive attitude served him well. The very next year, he returned to another PBA tournament—this time the Bowlers Journal Scorpion Championship at the World Series of Bowling in Las Vegas—in his first televised performance since the infamous “100 game.”

Daugherty won the whole thing, snagging his first PBA title.

Since........

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