When slackers grow up

As Gen X slides into middle age, the arty, bohemian types face a stark choice: Conform or die.

OK, that may be a tad dramatic, but just as dramatic are the life changes some people make as they choose between indy dreams and suburban security. Creative Loafing Atlanta tells the stories of three. They may be clear across the country, but I think their experiences echo those of many here and elsewhere.

One is Sam Patton, once the hard-living proprietor of a hip video store in the arty Little Five Points section of Atlanta. "But now he's just one of many: locked in a 9-to-5 job, a resident of the suburbs, the owner of a 401K plan. It may be happiness, or simply the price of growing up."

On the flip side is Thomas Tulis, 42, who remains devoted to the artist's life despite living below the poverty line for two decades:

In the service of his art, Tulis has dispensed with the following creature comforts: eating out, food that does not come in cans, a relationship, children, financial security, savings, a retirement account, adequate living space and entertainment.