For most of their lives, baby boomers knew an America that incited their occasional fury but rarely let them down.  Fueled by new ideals and rock and roll, they developed a counterculture, protested the Vietnam War and marched for civil rights.

Through it all, the boomers radiated optimism, and why not? After swelling the college ranks, they moved up with each new degree and contact, becoming the yuppies who laid the foundation of the business world.

 Then came the Great Recession, a calamity emerging as another defining moment for a fabled generation.

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