A Generational Moment

David Letterman, host of the “Late Show with David Letterman waves to the audience in New York on Thursday, after announcing that he will retire sometime in 2015. Letterman, who turns 67 next week, has the longest tenure of any late-night talk show host in U.S. television history, already marking 32 years since he created “Late Night” at NBC in 1982. AP/CBS photo by Jeffrey R. Staab.

Children of the ’80s, such as myself, are frequently amused these days by signs that we’re, you know, getting up there. We hear songs we helped drive up the pop charts on “oldies” stations and see movies we saw in high school dubbed “classics.” We go see Pat Benatar at the Opera House and marvel that she can still rock at 61.

When Johnny Carson stepped down from the The Tonight Show in 1992, it was a big deal for people my age. But he was from our parents’ generation. When we started watching Carson, as many referred to the show, it was already a fully-formed late-night institution.

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