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Kathleen Casey-Kirschling was born one second after midnight on January 1, 1946. Today she filed for Social Security benefits and, as the "first" Boomer, got to do it on the internet during a well-hyped press event.

Reuters was among many news organizations to spin it negatively, leading off by saying she is "the first ripple in a 'silver tsunami' of retiring baby boomers applying for pension benefits that threatens to overwhelm U.S. government finances."

Social Security boss Michael Astrue was on hand to assure all that the agency was preparing for the onslaught.

The AP notes that "The Social Security trust fund, if left alone, is projected to go broke in 2041." Presumably, however, we'll think of something.

Casey-Kirschling taught seventh graders for 14 years at a school near Camden, N.J., before retiring and volunteering for the Red Cross in Gulf Coast areas hit by Hurricane Katrina.