My Golden Girls

I went to my favorite pool the other day to do my water exercises.  When I arrived there were three ladies in the pool that I hadn’t seen before and one of them asked, “Are you here to lead our exercise group?”  They went on to explain that they attempted to take part in an exercise class in one of the Olympic pools, but they’d been turned away.  Only one of the three was a resident.  The other two were visitors.  Apparently, the classes are so popular they don’t allow visitors to join. That’s how they ended up in the adult pool.  They wanted to exercise but weren’t sure what to do.

That’s when I said, “Me neither.  I’m just making it up as a go along but you’re welcome to copy me if you like.”

They did some things, and I did some things. Nothing was organized.  It probably looked like people walking around and splashing a bit.  If we splashed it was purposeful.  I had my water weights with me, and they asked about them, so I shared them.  There’s no real weight.  They just provide resistance in the water.  I hold mine down to my side while I take long stretching steps, or march, in the pool. I’m just trying to strengthen the muscles in my legs.  Holding the weights underwater is helping to strengthen my shoulders.  It may sound lame but that’s the method to my madness.

In any case, we talked a bit, and I really can’t say how, but we eventually spoke about my writing.  I talked about my blog and then my book.  They were intrigued with my “How About Me?’ story.  They’d never met anyone who married with such an interesting proposal.

They shared that they refer to themselves as the Golden Girls. If you don’t recall the tv show, here’s a brief summary.

The show follows four older single women (three widows and one divorcée) living together as roommates in Miami. The owner of the house is a widow named Blanche Devereaux (played by Rue McClanahan), who is joined by fellow widow Rose Nylund (played by Betty White) and divorcée Dororthy Zbornak (played by Bea Arthur). In the pilot episode, the three are joined by Dorothy’s 80-year-old widowed mother, Sophia Petrillo (played by Estelle Getty) after the retirement home where she has been living burns down.

My Golden Girls are from New Jersey, ride motorcycles together, and were currently having a girls’ weekend.  The more we talked, the more we shared. The motorcycle riding Golden Girls each identified with the original cast.  They explained that there was a fourth female in their crew, but she was back at the house working.

At one point they asked how they could get a copy of my book.  I told them it was available online and “for three months only, you can get it at the local Barnes and Noble”.  They countered with, “What if we want it signed?”

I told them I had copies at home, and if they were going to be at the pool the next day, I could bring some and a pen.  We set a time and they committed to bringing the fourth girl.

We met at ten the next morning and never made it into the pool.  They shared their stories, asked questions about me, and before we knew it an hour and a half had passed.   They had scheduled facials, whatever that means, and I had a tee time to make.  It’s amazing what you can learn in a brief time.

The oldest girl is 76 and the youngest is around 30.  The other two are 60 and 42. The 60-year-old knew the other three from a variety of endeavors.  It was her home in The Villages that the four were sharing on their girl’s weekend.  They flew to Florida, but their more common form of transportation was motorcycles.  Motorcycle riding and living in New Jersey are the ties that bind them.  After getting facials on the morning of our meeting, they were going mudbogging on ATV’s.   They have adventurous souls.

The oldest of the group has been married twice and lost both husbands.  The 60-year-old is married to an older man.  They bought their house in Florida for their retirement years, but she’s not ready to retire yet.  The forty-two-year-old had been married for twenty years but was recently divorced.  I don’t know the circumstances but the water in her eyes told me that the wound was still fresh.  The thirty-something is engaged and plans to marry next year.

The age difference of these Golden Girls exceeds four decades, but their commitment to one another is clear.  They love each other and enjoy sharing their time.

My big takeaway from our brief encounter is the importance of having friends.  My Golden Girls truly care about one another.  Age has nothing to do with it.  They just like each other and enjoy sharing their time.  Motorcycles may have triggered the bond, but the fact that they enjoy one another’s company is the tie that binds them now.

Friends can get us through the tough parts of life.  You can never have too many.  If you’ve got some, do your best to keep them. If you don’t, go get some.  You don’t have to ride motorcycles, just be willing to share a bit of your soul.