Becci Bookner

Archive for the ‘Senior Entertainment’ Category

If you haven’t seen this footage yet, I encourage you to take a quick break and check it out.

For her 90th birthday, Bonnie Townsend of Port Charlotte, FL chose to celebrate the occasion by skydiving for the first time.

To me, these are the stories I like to see about aging. Ones that promote the natural process of life as something to celebrate to the very end.

My favorite quote from Bonnie’s experience is when she said that she now knew she wanted to go to heaven. What inspiration from a great spirit of joy!

Bonnie’s not the only amazing elder to take to the skies. In 2007, this 90-year-old Australian grandmother also took a maiden dive. I wonder what it is about hitting 90 that makes some people jump out of a plane. Could it be the exhilaration and freedom? Hm. I guess I’ll have to wait until I turn 90 to find out!

Photo: Andora Quinby from the Growing Bolder website

Osteoporosis and osteoarthritis occur in both sides of my family, which makes me prone to reviewing the latest preventative tips and treatments with more than just casual interest.

This family history is one reason I recently started the extreme workout routine P90X, as well as increased my noshing on calcium-rich foods like kale and collard greens.

Knowing your osteoporosis risk can definitely be a motivating factor in taking care of your body now for lifelong health—don’t you agree? Over the weekend, Becci forwarded me an email from Third Age, which contains a link to this osteoporosis risk assessment.

After taking the assessment myself, I decided to dig deeper. My further research revealed that it’s actually good to incorporate weight lifting and weight-baring exercises into your daily routine—even if you already have osteoporosis!

Then, I discovered inspiration over at the wonderful website Growing Bolder. This audio interview of Andora Quinby (recorded when she was 88 years old and the champion in her age division for dead-lifting 100 lbs) reminds me that it’s never too late to make our bodies stronger and more healthy.

As if the Universe wanted to make extra sure that the message got through, this morning, Good Morning America introduced us all to Ernestine Shepherd—the gorgeous weight-lifting grandmother who started in her 50s and still looks amazing at 74!

I don’t know about anyone else, but all this information makes me want to get up and move: What about you?

For those familiar with Twitter, you know a thing or two about trending topics. For those unfamiliar, a trending topic is just that—a subject that people are chatting (a.k.a. tweeting) about most often during a given time period.

Some trending topics you may be familiar with, while others take some investigation. Yesterday, a trending topic lifted my heart and I just had to share it with you.

Until I clicked on Janey Cutler’s name on Twitter, I had no idea who she was. Given the pulse of our site here, imagine my delight in finding out that she’s an incredible 81-year-old singer who made her international debut on the show, Britain’s Got Talent.

As I watched her audition video on Youtube, my heart lifted and I felt tears of joy roll down my face. Read the rest of this entry »