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For seniors, moment has come
(by Barbara Christian - July 14, 2010)
WINDOW ON MAIN STREET, BY BARBARA CHRISTIAN
For seniors, moment has come
Have you noticed? Old is becoming fashionable, again and those of us who have reached that golden pinnacle are crediting Betty White for our new glamorous profile.
The be-dimpled 88-year-old actress has done more for old egos than Viagra has done for old ... never mind.
By now, you have read all about Betty's stellar performance on "Saturday Night Live." Funny? Yes. And she was in every skit that night then had stamina enough to attend the after-party. Here, here, Betty White!
Now, she has opened the next chapter of her life with a new TV show, "Hot in Cleveland," playing Elka, the not-so-innocently wise-cracking elderly landlady to three Los Angeles transplants.
The younger women may have all the curves, but Betty gets to throw all the curveball punch lines. You never know what she is going to say next, and the jokes come at you from some of the most incredible, unpredictable angles.
It brings to mind that saying, "If you can't be beautiful, be funny." But Betty White is beautiful and funny. And now she is coming out with her own 2011 calendar, adding another explosion to the myth that old means dead or always having to say, "You kids, get off my lawn."
Haven't seen her pin-up calendar, so we can't tell you exactly what or how much of Betty it may show. Since proceeds are going to an animal-welfare organization she supports, its probably fine.
Then there is the recent news that Betty and her husband, the late Allen Ludden, made their own "private" videos back in the day. Embarrassing? That news has only added to her growing mythology.
So what are we trying to say? To put it briefly, it would be, "Don't hate us or patronize us because we are old."
Think of Betty when the woman driving the car ahead of you is moving too slowly through the intersection.
Think Betty's husband when you are tempted to sigh loudly and pointedly at the old gent sorting through his coins at the CVS checkout.
We were not always old, you know. My mom, who died just short of 93, liked to say that inside every person was a soap opera screaming to get out. I believe her. We all have stories, and they seem even better the older we get.
Just take a look into the lives of seniors living at Hamlet Village, the Weils or South Franklin Circle. They have wonderful and inspiring stories to tell and some pretty interesting sidebar tales, we will wager.
Being proud of career accomplishments is one thing. But a satisfied grin that comes from remembering a life that would give pause to the impatient lady or man behind us at the intersection or the checkout at CVS is better.
Young people and folks in the middle of their lives are too busy to think about how one day they will have ripened. And with so many boomers appearing on Social Security roles these days, what is known as "old age" is becoming the new normal.
Not so long ago, when Michael Jordan was the man, everyone wanted "to be like Mike." Now, there is this new and unlikely superstar in Betty White, a woman who appears able to handle anything, including the centerpiece of a new slogan. Raise hands, proud seniors, how many want to be "Ready like Betty"?
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