PORTLAND MILLENNIAL PATIENCE IMPROVES

They want it all, and they want it now, but Portland millennial patience stays strong.

The best of the best? Remember what that looked like, or sounded like?

Experience, knowledge, and training used to guide American through it’s darkest nights.

Once we had nothing to fear but fear itself. Shine that light.

Baby boomers’ moms and dads knew the Great Depression first hand.

They had uncles and aunts born in the 20’s, either served in WWII, or knew people who did.

Together they’re called The Greatest Generation.

You could call them the most uniformed generation, too. World Wars do that.

So how did this uniformed, follow the rules, get a job and keep it for life generation ever spawn the first express-yourself generation.

The men in the gray flannel suits released tie-dyed hippies wearing rainbows.

Be yourself, they said. Be unique. There’s no one like you, just you.

Now baby boomers stand accused of inflicting millennials on the world, the largest, most pampered, demographic in world history.

Like no one saw that coming?

These young people are a force, and they will be reckoned with.

For every stoner living in their mom’s basement, there’s a career driven achiever pulling twelve hour days and a long commute.

The difference between the two? For boomers it’s easy. If you weren’t a hippie, the only ones you saw were on TV.

And if you don’t hang with slackers, you might not know one if it ordered the maxi-Big Gulp in front of you at the 7-11.

Whether it clicks, or they’re just repeating slogans, millennials want the same chances everyone else had. They want to know the American Dream is still working, if not for them, then someone.

Safe housing with expectations of improving location, location, location.

Sound transportation whether public or private, with expectations of a better ride.

Jobs that move the pile, jobs that contribute to a better place, jobs that lift hearts and minds.

Keep in mind you won’t find this right out of the gate.

This isn’t a cheap apartment in a sketch neighborhood, a monthly bus pass, and a phone desk cubicle.

That’s a starter kit.

The idea is getting to the good stuff, the reward for working hard, instead of longer hours, a worse apartment, and a longer commute.

Millennials might want luxury now, from safe zones to clean clothes, and they’ll get it piece by piece.

Portland millennial patience will win the day. Give them a reminder.

Without millennial patience the entire generation may turn into a mob of complaining whiners just like their…

Uh, never mind.