Welcome to this bonus edition of Gen-X Files! I try to stick with a 2nd/4th Wednesday of the month schedule, but there have been some things in the news recently that I just can't wait until next week to discuss. This includes Baby Jessica getting arrested, Sid Krofft passing away, and the career of choice for future Gen X retirees: DoorDash.
Let's dive in.
Baby Jessica
We all remember Baby Jessica, right? She's the sweet little 18-month-old tot who fell into an uncovered abandoned well in the backyard of her Texas home back in October of 1987 – and had the entire nation glued to their television sets watching the tense 60-hour effort to rescue her. We all let out a collective cheer when the rescue team finally freed her, and she went on to lose a toe and endure several surgeries as she recovered from the injuries she received from the 22-foot tumble and ensuing entrapment.
Well, Baby Jessica is now a 40-year-old mother of two who apparently doesn't much like her husband, at least according to police reports out of Midland County, Texas. Jessica McClure Morales was arrested last week and "charged with assault causing bodily injury involving family violence."
'Baby Jessica' arrested for domestic assault nearly 40 years after miracle rescue from Texas well https://t.co/xy7AYt55Vr pic.twitter.com/09irioZe3a
— New York Post (@nypost) April 14, 2026
She is now out on bond.
RIP, Sid Krofft
I wrote last week about the wig-flipping grooviness of the 1973 movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar and, as an older Xer, how that's the strange world I was born into and still don't quite understand. Well, can we talk about the weird and wonderful H.R. Pufnstuf now?
Sid Krofft, of "Created by Sid and Marty Krofft" fame, died last week in Los Angeles at the ripe old age of 96. He and his brother created Gen-X classics like the aforementioned H.R. Pufnstuf, along with Land of the Lost and The Donny & Marie Show. Staples in every Gen Xer's TV diet.
Sid Krofft, Producer and Creator of ‘H.R. Pufnstuf’ and ‘Land of the Lost,’ Dies at 96 https://t.co/WiBLyqL4eE pic.twitter.com/zUc1hKVFIg
— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) April 13, 2026
Delving into H.R. Pufnstuf would fill up an entire article on its own, so I'll just say this: I watched it, I loved it, and I'm pretty sure I'll never quite get it. But, thank you Sid Krofft for the hours and hours of entertainment.
We're All DoorDashers Now ... or We Will Be
Now this is what I really wanted to talk about today! As RedState's Jennifer Oliver O'Connell reported, a DoorDash-ing grandmother by the name of Sharon Simmons made a visit to the Oval Office earlier this week to make a delivery of McDonald's goodness to President Trump. And, as Susie Moore noted, it was clearly staged to make a point about the success of the president's "no tips on taxes." As if that needed to be pointed out, but the leftists will forevermore insist on hating Donald Trump's every move.
Anyway, I listened to an interview with Sharon Simmons following her White House visit and she explained why she chooses to do food delivery to pay her bills. For one thing, she said, she could be her own boss and her parents had raised her to always be independent. And she could set her own hours, which worked well for her family obligations.
One thing she didn't mention – and a "thing" that's really becoming a "thing" for many Gen Xers as they near retirement – is that she probably doesn't have many other employment options (and that's not a slight on her and might not be her situation at all). Ageism in the workplace has well and truly hit Generation X.
I cannot tell you how many videos YouTube is serving up to me right now about retirement, income streams, and finding work as an ageing woman. And a theme is emerging of people in their 50s who've been laid off and cannot get hired anywhere, so they turn to gig work like DoorDash and Uber Eats to make ends meet.
My suspicion is that we'll be seeing a lot more stories of ageing workers entering the gig economy since layoffs abound, ageism is real, many of us haven't saved enough to full-on retire, and, well, it's anyone's guess what will happen with Social Security.
Remember how everyone was all LOL when Al Gore talked about putting Social Security in a lock box? Even SNL! pic.twitter.com/0qDUoqvkkk
— Mulled Whine ~ Proud Fing Jewess ✡️ (@OGintheOP) June 29, 2019
And, Finally ...
Not exactly a meme, but still my Gen-X Meme of the Week. pic.twitter.com/EVvzcV7Z08
— Teri Christoph (@TeriChristoph) April 15, 2026
(For the record, I saw Billy Idol in concert at the GMU Patriot Center in May of 1987.)
