For some people, the world is divided racially or economically, along gender lines or by political borders. For me, the big divider, at least in the United States, has always been generational.

I was born in 1971, smack in the middle of what would later be called Generation X. I was part of dropoff generation, the calm after the storm, the first generation to undergo wholesale tranquilizing at the hands of school districts and the first generation to come of age under the threat of AIDS. I was also part of the generation that had the unfortunate task of following behind the Baby Boomers.

I don't need to tell you about the Boomers, and I'm disinclined to rehash their legendary exploits. Let's just say that they were the ones who defaulted on student loans while my generation was left begging for college money. They were the ones who complained of censorship while we had to crawl out from under the heavy blanket of classic rock. They were the biggest generation in American history, and one of their number spat on my mother when she was pregnant with me, stating that having children was "irresponsible."

Not that I bear them any ill will, mind you.

It's pretty well-known that far too many baby boomers are ill-prepared for retirement, but rising gas prices and a weak economy are exacerbating that problem. Here are some of the scary statistics from a new survey released by the AARP:

• Nearly 40% of people 45 and older have helped a child with expenses, including one-third of retirees.
• 8% have helped a parent keep up with bills.
• 1/3rd have stopped funding their 401(k) and 14% have cut back on medication.
• 60% have cut back on entertainment expenses like eating out.
• More than 25% are having difficulty making mortgage or rent payments.

If nothing else, these statistics are indicative of the perhaps ill-advised generosity of many baby boomers. 40% are helping children with expenses, and 1/3rd have stopped putting money aside for retirement. I wonder how much overlap there is there.

I know that people want to help their children. But underfunding your retirement to help out a younger person who has a lifetime of work ahead of them isn't noble: it's silly.

Just like they tell you on the airplane: Secure your own oxygen mask before you attempt to assist your child: you'll be more helpful to them that way.

When I was a kid, my favorite Wizard of Oz character was the Tin Man. The Lion was furry, but obnoxious, and the Scarecrow was nice, but a little too spastic. Toto was a yappy little dog and Dorothy was a girl and everyone else was just too damn weird looking. The Tin Man, though, was warm and caring, could blow steam out of his head, and made all kinds of fun sounds. He was just too damn cool.

I thought about the Tin Man recently because of some problems that Stryker Orthopaedics has been having with some of its replacement hips. Apparently, the company has a line of ceramic-lined hips that are guaranteed to last far longer than conventional plastic hips.

On the bright side, the hips have, thus far, lived up to their promise: in most cases, they are showing far less wear-and-tear than their plastic competitors. On the down side, 1-7% of these implants have developed an obnoxious squeak. Unlike the Tin Man, however, Stryker's customers can't get rid of their squeaks with a precise application of oil; they need to get their hips replaced again, a costly and intense surgical procedure with tons of potential complications.

As someone who was born at the end of the Baby Boom and who's been paying into the Social Security system since I got my first McJob as a teenager in 1982, I'm worried that when it comes time for me to get my cut, there'll be nothing left. After all, according to USA Today, I'm one of 80 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 who could qualify for Social Security and Medicare in the next 22 years.

The first wave of Boomers broke into the Social Security system this week, when 62-year-old Kathleen Casey-Kirschling -- whose midnight birth on Jan. 1, 1946, makes her America's first Boomer -- signed on for benefits. This opened the floodgates for the 3.2 million citizens who hit the big 6-2 next year, making them eligible for early retirement. According to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the average age at which workers in this country start receiving Social Security is 63.

Those who've crunched all these numbers say that if this trend continues, Social Security rolls will increase by 34 million by 2030, and Medicare by 35 million. The Social Security trust fund will start paying out more benefits than it collects by 2017 and is projected to deplete its reserves by 2041.

I guess it makes sense, kind of, if you're one of those "Life Begins at 40" types: According to a new study, Baby Boomers won't be calling themselves "old" until they're 77 and 10 months.

The Boomers might be onto something. The study, conducted by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, also found that most Americans looking forward to their 62nd birthday this year still work full-time (with about four or five years left to go), do a good job of maintaining their health (having not experienced any major health problems in the past 12 months), and plan to live the first 10 or so years of retirement "to the fullest," which presumably means they'll be traveling and partying, instead of fitting little ships into glass bottles and telling the neighbors' kids to get off their lawns.

And living those early retirement years to "the fullest" seems like a goal within their financial grasp. The average boomer boasts an income of more than $70,000, a net worth of $250,000, a home worth $300,000 and an expected $100,000 to $200,000 inheritance from their parents. Party on, dudes!

Parents -- now they're old.