Romance/Love: June 24, 2009 Issue [#3125]
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Romance/Love


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  Edited by: Fyn Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt;
as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear;
as young as your hope, as old as your despair.~~Douglas MacArthur

And, how can my kids be older than I feel sometimes?~~annon

I myself have a full head of hair, good looks, great muscle tone, and the flattest belly this side of the Fifth Street Gym. At least that's what I see in my mind's eye.
Why that 65-year-old guy in the mirror let himself go so, I have no idea. But he ought to be ashamed.~~Frank Kaiser





Word from our sponsor

ASIN: 197380364X
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Letter from the editor

Observations from a small town carnival.

Question:How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

We went to the carnival Saturday night because our neighbor's friends were the band for the evening. The band played 'classic rock.' I'm getting old I guess. It was stuff my kids listened to fifteen years ago.

We wandered the booths. My husband won me a ridiculous looking stuffed frog by throwing darts at balloons. We blew probably twenty dollars on a five dollar frog. We had a ball! Then we went for a ride on the Ferris wheel. The sun was just setting and the view was fantastic. He kissed me as we sat on top of the world. The three tween-aged kids sharing our gondola giggled at us.

"Hey look at those old folks kissing." said one as we ignored them. "I didn't know people that old still kissed!" whispered her friend. We cracked up.

As we got off the ride, the couple who took our seats were easily in their eighties. "Frank, remember when we had our first ride on a Ferris wheel in 1943?" "Sure do, Lily" he replied. "It was just before I left for boot camp and I had the prettiest girl in the county at my side." "You still do," They giggled. So did we. The tweens thought we were all nuts.

We wandered past the petting zoo. We took pictures of llamas and fed some alpacas. We watched children point at huge turtles and laugh at the kangaroo. We watched looks of delight as little ones went for a camel ride.

The kid taking tickets for the fun house asked if we were really sure we wanted to go in. Silly boy! We had fun in the mirror maze. Love the mirrors that make you look skinny. Ignored the ones that didn't. We navigated the moving floors and the rolling barrels. I screamed in the spider web when they misted us with water. We opted to take the path with the obstacle course and so climbed rope walls, scooted under and through a rope maze and slid down the slide at the end. It was fun and silly and my muscles still ache.

We ended up sitting next to Frank and Lily as we waited for the fireworks. They had their lawn chairs, their blanket and their books. We'd forgotten to bring anything. They shared and we all got to talking.

At one point, while the guys were talking about the way the town's changed in the last space of years and trading farm stories, Lily moved the romance novel in her lap and said she wished she could find some about seniors. "All the girls are in their twenties or forties (if you're lucky.) Why don't they ever write them about women in their sixties or seventies? Do writers all think that just because we are older we don't have romance or adventures?"

I mentioned WDC and said I had a Romance newsletter to write and that she had just given me a good idea for one.

"Tell those writers that all the ladies at the senior center think the same way I do. We don't want to read about kids. We want to read about vital women we can relate to."

She has a good point. Her sixty year old daughter and son-in-law go para sailing and kayaking. Her daughter met her new hubby when she was off on a walking tour of Scotland. Turned out they lived two towns away from each other.

Lily taught school before she retired and volunteers in a number of activities around town. She mentioned how all the baby-boomers are approaching retirement age if (and she smiled here) they can afford to retire. "People are growing older in large numbers; a good part of our society is getting on in years. The kids aren't reading as much as they did when we were young. But us older folks, we do a lot of reading."

As we all talked, her husband often took her hand in his for a moment. They made jokes about how the finale of the fireworks were really just the preamble to the fireworks when they got home. They were sweet and funny and romantic.

They held hands as we all hiked back to our cars. We talked about the 'had fun at the fair and are now tired and cranky but will be asleep as soon as the car begins to move children' we passed and then about our assorted grandkids and their great-great grands. (They have fourteen great grand kids and a great-great on the way!) As they were getting in their car, Lily said, "Don't forget now. Write about writing for the senior audience."

So I have.


Editor's Picks

 The Aging Gardeners Open in new Window. (E)
Two senior citizens take on the task of gardening by themselves.
#1442985 by ShiShad Author IconMail Icon


 National Treasures Open in new Window. (E)
Opinion piece defending the value of senior citizens.
#1125547 by PONTIFEX Author IconMail Icon


 A Modest Proposal Open in new Window. (E)
Taking the bite out of a romantic dinner for two senior citizens.
#396526 by SophyBells Author IconMail Icon


Image Protector
FORUM
SENIOR CENTER FORUM Open in new Window. (ASR)
The Place for Seniors!
#427318 by Kit Author IconMail Icon


 The Red Mystery Open in new Window. (13+)
Anyone can follow their heart, no matter their age.
#1451758 by Sierra Author IconMail Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1546201 by Not Available.



 
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Ask & Answer

shaara wrote:I loved your story about the song you and your husband keep special. How romantic! Thanks for sharing. Shaara

Too many folks I know seem to have let the romance seep out of their lives. I think this is a terrible thing because romance is what keeps you going during all the 'stuff' that occurs in our lives.

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