Gen Jones Chronicles
By Kim from Gen Jones Chronicles
Gen Jones ChroniclesOct 02, 2023
Dan from Montana
In this interview, I talk to Dan from Montana. Dan was born in South Dakota, moved a lot when he was a child, and lived most of his life in the American West. When he retired a few years ago, he and his wife set out to travel the world. Dan’s observations of life in the Western U.S. reveal an America that became more corporate and less personal, yet one which offered technological advancements that allow him to expand his horizons in the world.
00:00-00:27 Introduction to episode
00:31-00:57 Introduction to guest
00:58-5:27 Childhood
5:36-14:50 Education
14:58-30:50 Employment
31:03-37:51 World or national events
38:00-46:34 Family life
46:43-51:09 Shifts in cultural attitudes
51:15-55:33 Technology in personal life
55:43-1:03:06 Word association & final thoughts
Cheryl Green - Hamilton, New Zealand
In this interview, I talk to Cheryl Green. Cheryl is a recently retired referee of the Disputes Tribunal in Hamilton, New Zealand. She was born and raised in New Zealand to English parents who thought of themselves as working class. She was told that people like them didn’t attend college. Following a somewhat non-traditional path, she eventually got a college degree and became a lawyer. I know Cheryl personally, and I find her to be extremely organized, enthusiastic, and fun.
Michael Jensen, World Traveler & Writer, born 1963
In this interview, I talk to Michael Jensen. Michael is one-half of the husband & husband team of writers behind the popular travel blog, Brent and Michael are Going Places (www.brentandmichaelaregoingplaces.com), where they chronicle their lives as digital nomads where they’ve been living in the larger world for the past several years. Michael begins his story describing the importance of books as an early inspiration in his life. He describes how it feels to navigate the world as a gay man in his young adulthood, his work life as a writer, and his concern about public discourse in America.
0:00-Introduction to episode
0:36-Introduction to guest
1:22-Childhood
6:15-Education
17:11-Employment
25:22-Major cultural events
33:20-Family life
38:33-Technology
43:32-Shifts in cultural attitudes
51:09-Final thoughts
54:59-Outro
Kim's suggested playlist:
World of Imagination, Gene Wilder
Leaving on a Jet Plane, Bob Denver
Poetry Man, Phoebe Snow
That's What Friends Are For, Dionne Warwick & friends
Come Together, The Beatles
The Times, They Are A'Changin', Bob Dylan
Don't Stop Me Now, Queen
We Are the World, USA for Africa
Fly Like an Eagle, Steve Miller
Cecilia Webster, born in 1955, Victoria, Australia
In this interview, I talk to Cecilia Webster, from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. Although Cecilia describes herself as “ordinary”, I think she is anything but. Cecilia has kept a keen eye on the nursing profession, the environment, and aged care – all while raising 3 children, helping care for ill family members, and advocating at the grassroots for positive change in social policy.
0:00:00-Introduction to episode
0:00:36-Introduction to guest
0:01:09-Childhood
0:15:40-Primary education
0:27:36-Sex education early 1970's
0:44:14-Nursing career
01:05:28-Pandemic nursing
01:13:33-Technology in nursing
01:26:52-Family life
01:33:00-Shifts in cultural attitudes
01:36:47-Word association
01:50:25-Final thoughts
01:58:38-Outro
Kim's suggested playlist, songs on Spotify:
He Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother, The Hollies
She blinded me with Science, Thomas Dolby
Let's Misbehave by Cole Porter, sung by Janice Hagan
She Works Hard for the Money, Donna Summer
Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Simon & Garfunkle
You've Got a Friend, James Taylor
Imagine, John Lennon
Just the Way You Are, Billy Joel
What a Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong
Kookaberra Sits, ABC Kids
Mark Dotson, born in Flint, Michigan, 1957
In this episode, I talk to Mark, who was born in Flint, Michigan in 1957. Mark's family moved into an upper middle-class mostly white neighborhood in Flint in the 1960's, and his family was harassed because they were African-American. He was a first-hand witness to white flight and what it did to the community. Nevertheless, his mother was an educator and instilled in the importance of education. Mark broke racial barriers at the University of Michigan, as a pharmacist, and as a lawyer and law professor. Hear his story here.
0:00-Introduction of episode
0:40-Introduction of guest
01:33-Childhood
18:03-Typical day and education
27:20-Employment
47:38-Family
1:00:54-Technology in personal life
1:07:19-Shifts in cultural attitudes
1:17:15-Final thoughts
1:20:48-Outro
Kim's suggested playlist, found on Spotify
What's Going On, Marvin Gaye
The Swimming Song, Louden Wainwright III
Think, Aretha Franklin
Indigo Blue, Hank Crawford
Heart of Gold, Neil Young
Revolution, The Beatles
Nan, a 59-year-old woman from Montana
In this episode, we will hear my discussion with Nan, a 59-year-old woman from Montana. Nan was born in Havre, Montana, a city of about 9,000 people. She grew up and lived her entire adult life in Havre, but recently she and her husband embarked on a nomadic life mostly outside the United States. Nan discusses her upbringing in the household of her Italian grandparents, her career as a nurse, and life in a small town.
0:00-Introduction of episode
00:35-Introduction of guest 01:10- Early childhood
14:52-Typical childhood day compared to son's
17:24-Education
25:01-Career as a nurse
37:39-Major cultural events
44:00-Technology in personal life
52:12-Family life
56:30-Cultural attitude shifts
61:57-Word association
68:12-Closing thoughts
69:30-Outro by Kim
To see a written transcript, go to https://www.genjoneschronicles.com/gen-jones-stories-on-spotify
Kim's suggested playlist (songs available on Spotify)
Don’t Fence me In, Ella Fitzgerald
I think its Going to Rain Today, Joe Cocker
Small Town by John Cougar Mellencamp
Lean on Me, Bill Withers
Stay Away, Randy Newman
Telephone, Lady Gaga
Volare, Dean Martin
River, Joni Mitchell
Life is a Highway, Tom Cochrane
Fly Like an Eagle, Steve Miller Band
Brendan Cullen, Hamilton New Zealand
In this episode, we hear my discussion with Brendan Cullen. Brendan was born to immigrant parents in Dunedin on New Zealand’s South Island. He has lived most of his adult life in Hamilton, New Zealand, where he has been an involved member of the community, practicing law &, along with his wife Cheryl, raising their daughter. Brendan’s careful reflection adds to our journey to find common characteristics of Gen Jonesers.
To read a transcript of this interview, go to www.genjoneschronicles.com, on the page "Gen Jones Stories".
01:32-Childhood
07:06-Career
26:34-Significant national or international events
33:10-Family life & parenting
40:53-Technology in personal life
44:33-Shifts in cultural attitudes
50:04-Word association
58:20-Final thoughts
Kim’s suggested playlist for this episode with artist performance available on Spotify:
Welcome Home (Dave Dobbyn)
Bicycle Race (Queen)
I’m on Hold (Alex Cornell)
Fly Me to the Moon (Joytastic Sarah)
That’s the Way I Always Heard it Should Be (Carly Simon)
Video Killed the Radio Star (The Buggles)
Hello Goodbye (The Beatles)
Kol Nidre (Max Bruch)
Camelot (Frederick Lowe Broadway cast)
Fly Like an Eagle (Steve Miller Band)
Gen Jones Chronicles interviews Paul - born in 1957 Osaka, raised in Chicago
In the first episode of the Gen Jones Chronicles, Kim interviews her spouse, Paul. Paul was born in 1957 to a Japanese mother and American G.I. father. He grew up in Chicago. Hear Paul discuss his childhood, his education & career, and his philosophies. This project is supported by the Prepared Mind project, www.prepraredmind.org. To learn more about the Gen Jones Chronicles, go to www.genjoneschronicles.com.
00:00-Introduction
00:47-Introduction of guest
01:08-Paul's identity & childhood
06:27-Views on education
14:40-Changes in workplace over career
22:80-Significant national or international events
29:26-Family life & cultural attitudes, then and now
37:10-Changes in technology
55:01-Word association
64:43-Parenting philosophies, most significant changes, & what Paul thinks about Gen Jones
74:21: Outro
Kim's suggested playlist for this episode, by artists available on Spotify:
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Iron Butterfly)
Pleasant Valley Sunday (The Monkees)
Let It Be (The Beatles)
Tubular Bells – Pt. 1 (Mike Oldfield)
War (Edwin Starr)
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) (James Taylor)
In the Year 2525 (Zager & Evans)
We Are the Champions (Queen)
Why Can’t We Be Friends (War)
Fly Like an Eagle (Steve Miller Band)
Interview with Paul Webster from Victoria, Australia
In this episode, I interview Paul Webster, who was born in 1956 and currently resides in Victoria, Australia. The son of an Australian Air Force officer, Paul lived in Hong Kong as a child, and later lived in Malaysia. He discusses boarding school in Victoria, his own career in the Air Force and in the academic world, and his relationships with his family. To access a transcript of this episode in English, go to www.genjoneschronicles.com, next to Paul Webster's photograph on the "Gen Jones Stories" page.
00:00-Introduction to episode
00:34-Introduction to guest
00:58-Paul's early childhood & boarding school
07:18-Typical childhood days
10:28-Education
15:52-Air Force career
24:39Time with Mum
28:43-Career in academic world
34:27-Biggest changes in the workplace
42:36-Significant national or international events
45:55-Family life then & now, & changing cultural attitudes
57:22-Word association
65:41-Parenting philosophies
71:54-Biggest overall change
75:04-Paul's closing remarks
76:32-Outro
Kim's suggested playlist with artists found on Spotify:
Down Under (Men At Work)
Another Brick in the Wall (Pink Floyd)
When You Wish Upon a Star (Magic Philharmonic Orchestra)
School’s Our (Alice Cooper)
Cat’s in the Cradle (Harry Chapin)
Seasons in the Sun (Terry Jacks)
Takin’ Care of Business (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
School Days (The Runaways)
Spirit in the Sky (Norman Greenbaum)
What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love (Burt Bacharach)
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Elton John)
Kids (Paul Lynde)
Mr. Roboto (Styx)
My Way (Frank Sinatra)
Fly Like an Eagle (Steve Miller Band)
Mata from Aotearoa, born in Rotorua, 1957
In this episode, Mata from Aotearoa, a Maori woman, discusses how she went from a one-room hut in poverty to a successful life as a mother, spouse, and career-woman. Please join us in this fascinating journey.
00:00-Introduction to episode
0:36-Introduction to guest
00:52-Mata's identity & earliest memories
17:12-Death of Mata's dad
30:47-Mata's new home
36:12-Mata's school years
54:03-Mata's years in Australia
66:09-Mata's career track
85:27-Cultural attitudes
93:15-Views on parenting styles
97:13-Mata's final thoughts
98:13-Wrap-up
Kim's suggested playlist for this episode (with songs found on Spotify)
Pakarekare Ana (Maori Tribe)
We Are Family (Sister Sledge)
Pope E Tangi Ana Tama Ki Te Kai Mana (Maori)
Whakaria Mai (The Kiwi Sound)
Life is a Highway (Rascal Flatts)
Stairway to Heaven (Payton Howard)
I am Woman (Helen Reddy)
Let Me Be Myself (3 Doors Down)
Teach Your Children (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
Poi E (Patea Maori Club)
Mable Martin-Scott, grew up in Chicago, lives in Okemos, Michigan
Mable Martin-Scott describes her childhood as "growing up in the 'hood" in Cabrini-Green in Chicago. She was laser-focused on becoming a lawyer at a time when peole coulnd not envision that as even possible, and she succeeded. She discusses her journey in this episode.
You can see a transcript of this conversation on www.genjoneschronicles.com, on the Gen Jones Stories page next to Mable's photograph.
01:12-Identity and childhood
07:46-Early education and college
23:46-Law School
33:00-Career
43:11-National or international events
46:33-Family life and parenting
67:28-Technology in personal life
74:03-Shifts in cultural attitudes
82:17-Climate change
84:54-Final thoughts
Kim’s suggested playlist for this episode with artist performance available on Spotify:
Living for the City (Stevie Wonder)
Beginnings (Chicago)
School Day (Chuck Berry)
A Change is Gonna Come (Aretha Franklin)
Wind Beneath my Wings (Bette Midler)
Abraham, Martin, and John (Dion)
I Believe I Can Fly (Yolanda Adams)
Operator (that’s not he way it feels) (Jim Croce)
You are So Beautiful (Joe Cocker)
Big Yellow Taxi (Bob Dylan)
In My Life (Crosby, Stills, & Nash)
Fly Like an Eagle (Steve Miller Band)
What are the Gen Jones Chronicles?
Kim talks about why she created this project and what it is all about, and we hear from some of the interview subjects.