Boomer of the Week: Michele West Sacramento, California

The stories of personal transformation that we are sharing with you each week have been written by members of our Boomers TV community. They are generously sharing their journey with us to offer hope and inspiration.

This week, we introduce you to Michele West, a Boomer who makes her home in Sacramento, California.


Michele West

Reflections of a 54 Years-Young Boomer
In the year 1999, I had nearly raised two boys, and had just experienced the loss of my husband of nearly 25 years to an untimely death at age 48. After coming to grips with my grief and realizing life was still going on for me, I was beginning to look forward to developing my own life. After always putting my needs and career on the back burner, I could finally take advantage of all the higher education I had received earlier. After only one year of being "back to work", I was in a position where I could climb my professional ladder as high as I wanted to.

"Retired", but not by choice
Unfortunately, only two years into this process, I began to develop health problems that would not resolve. At age 51, I was forced into a disability based retirement, for which I was completely and totally unprepared. (I think if I had had a show like yours during these years I might not have had to go through such misery?!) Emotionally, physically, socially, and spiritually, I went through some of the darkest days of my life. At times I was convinced there was nothing more for me in this life. I seriously considered joining my late husband, by taking my own life, but knew how much it would have added to my sons' unbearable grief.

Hanging On, Moving On
So I hung on and decided to find out how people lived when they were no longer expected to show up for something or someone every day. I became interested in doing family research, as I wanted to preserve the memory of my children's father. This hobby exposed me to mostly older (truly retired) people. For the first time in many years, I was really inspired by what I saw. It was amazing how they were really embracing their life, even as their health, strength, friends and family were slipping away.

Making Up for Lost Time
As I decided to also embrace this time in my life, I began to remember all those things that I had always pushed aside, because there was never enough time or money! To make a long story short, I now have my fingers in so many pots that I can't figure out how to get into all the things that I really want to do. I have begun taking cake decorating and plan to go to a "desserts expo" in Las Vegas this summer. I have started selling little things here and there on eBay and have made some money too! I'm really looking forward to going to the eBay Live conference this summer, where over 10,000 people are expected to gather! I restarted taking German lessons to keep my mind sharp. I'm playing the piano almost every day and am thinking of rejoining a choir, except that I am running out of evenings to fit it in! Meanwhile I have taken up some needle work that has been sitting in the corner for more years than I can remember. And just to make sure I don't over do it, my new husband and I are planning a ten day cruise to Alaska later this year.

The Next 50 Years...
After being isolated for several years, my activities have led me to even more wonderful people and excitement than I would ever have imagined. Even though my physical condition has not improved enough to return to my job life, I have so much living to do right now that I can't hardly imagine how I can get it all in! I definitely will need another 40-50 years to get to it!

Reaching Out
There has been one very remarkable blessing that has come from all the loneliness and pain that I have suffered. Besides having time to do all kinds of fun things, I now have awareness that I am not alone. There are many, many people just like me out in the world. They too need to know they aren't forgotten or unnecessary any more. I now have the time to reach out and be there for those people, either by phone, email, letters or any number of ways to let people know that they are remembered and appreciated just by their living and being!

The Boomers! Store Is OPEN!

We’re pleased to offer DVDs of the first season of Boomers! Redefining Life After Fifty. You can enter the Store via the toolbar at www.boomerstv.com or by clicking here: Boomers! Store

Buy the complete set of 13 episodes for just $49.99. You’ll own over six great hours of stories, expert advice and tips for making the most of this exciting time of life! Or, buy individual episodes for $9.99 each. Watch all the shows again or see any episode you might have missed.

One American turns 50 every seven seconds. The complete 4 DVD set is the perfect gift for the special Boomer in your life.

Thank you for watching, for visiting us online and for helping us to create a more vibrant community of Boomers!

Boomer of the Week: James Middlefield, Seattle Washington

The stories of personal transformation that we are sharing with you each week have been written by members of our Boomers TV community. They are generously sharing their journey with us to offer hope and inspiration.

This week, we introduce you to James Middlefield, a Boomer who makes his home in the Seattle area. James is a "blues" enthusiast who studies, performs, and follows music as a part of his "mid-life rejuvenation."



James Middlefield

Music & Mid-Life Rejuvenation
For most live performers the music is something they have included to some extent through their entire lives but I have met many performers who came to it later in life, like a mid-life transition, who still work in their careers and perform as an avocation. Mostly I think of it as a mid-life rejuvenation more than mid-life transition. I think that is what today's people over 50 are looking for. They aren't looking so much for a soft chair and a game of golf as they are for activities that they can be involved in that remind them of the energy of their youth. That is what blues music does for a lot of us. At the same time it can be coupled with RV travel to festivals around the country, Blues Cruises and golf weekends too.

Piano, Guitar, Harmonica
Ever since I was a young kid I loved music. I hated the piano lessons my parents offered (made me take) through the little old lady up the street and then the man downtown with the German accent. Possibly because they were trying to teach me classical music and I just didn't hear it. I gave it up as soon as they would let me. But, then around age of 11, I got the bug to play guitar. Creedence Clearwater Revival was my favorite band at the time and of course the Beatles. Unfortunately my guitar teacher didn't know much about that and focused on tunes like 'Lady of Spain' etc. I pretty much put the guitar down in pursuit of sports and school work. Later, after college, I bought an acoustic guitar, a few harmonicas and dabbled off and on for years.

"Over 40" Bands
It wasn't until I turned 40 and realized that I had plenty of time on my hands and money enough to buy equipment that I decided to pick up the dream again to play music. That year a local music store offered a continuing education program for middle agers like me. For $75 I could sign up to play with other musicians in a band configuration. They would organize interested musicians into groups of 4 to 6 and help them rehearse up to five tunes over a six week period and then offer each of
the groups a chance to take the stage at a local club. The other guitar players could play better than I could so I stuck with harmonica. We called the band 'Caught Lookin'.

All the musicians in this band were over 40 and had played in garage bands when they were in high school or college, given it up to raise a family and to work real jobs, as our parents would call it. But we all loved music and wanted to play for people. We finished the program at the music store and kept the band together for three years playing in local bars and festivals. After a while the band broke up but stayed friends and still get together frequently to play music.

Music Makes Us Younger
I am now 52 years old. To keep my jones for music active, I became a member of the local "Blues Society" and the National Blues Foundation. I began writing reviews of new CDs and frequently go to blues jams in the area to play harmonica. I play guitar and or harmonica almost every day and dabble in other instruments like sax and keyboards. When I travel I bring some harmonicas with me and look for a bar with a friendly blues band who will let me sit in. The internet has helped me to meet wonderful people from around the world who enjoy blues music including friends from Perth, Australia and England who have actually come to Seattle to visit and enjoy some of the local music. I am starting a new career in real estate sales so I am backing off the music for a while but I will definitely be involved more as I grow
older. One never has to feel like they are too old to play harmonica in a blues band.

Music is an important part of life for everyone, especially boomers. But when it comes to popular music and blues/rock, the love reflects a period in life that we cherished. We cherish our youth and the feelings that we had during youth. We think that listening to and playing our music makes us feel more vital, even younger, because it was the music we listened to in our teens and twenties. We are finding more and more boomers awakening there love of music styles from the 60s and 70s now that they have more time to enjoy going out and now that more and more venues are going smoke-free. Every summer outdoor festivals are packed with boomers. They love live music because it is visceral, and they can feel the energy of the live performance and the message of the music.

It's Pledge Time !

We've been hearing from some of our viewers that Boomers! Redefining Life After Fifty has disappeared from the tv listings. Not to worry...we'll be back!

Most public television stations are pledging during the month of March and many of them replace regular programming with Pledge Specials. Not all of them do this - we've heard from some program directors who will keep running Boomers! throughout the month. But stay tuned - if we're not in our regular time slot for a few weeks, we'll be back soon!

Good news...we're beginning to hear from many stations (70 so far) that will begin re-running Season One of Boomers! in April. We'll be updating our listings as we hear from program directors and our distributor, American Public Televison. Just click on the "Find out when Boomers! is on in your area" link on the BoomersTV home page for details.

And if our series still isn't available on your local PBS station, please contact Audience Services at that station and ask them to carry the only lifestyle magazine by, about and for Baby Boomers on television. Thanks so much for your help and support.

Boomer Of The Week: Devon Austin, San Francisco, California

The stories of personal transformation that we are sharing with you each week have been written by members of our Boomers TV community. They are generously sharing their journey with us to offer hope and inspiration.

This week, we introduce you to Devon Austin, a Boomer who makes her home in the San Francisco area. Since turning 50, Devon has listened to her inner voice and has begun to follow some new dreams.



Devon Austin

Everything Is Making More Sense
Being over 50 is FABULOUS! I’m in such a good place. I am 55 and live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have been divorced for more than 15 years and have 2 grown children and 1 granddaughter. I have a wonderful and supportive network of friends and family. As the years go by everything just seems to make more sense to me. I am certainly guided more by my inner voice. I have a very artistic, creative side and have found that I very much enjoy working with other women. Following my passion is now second nature. My dreams have taken me to places I never thought I would go.

The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me
I can truly say my life changed at 50. I had been working in the corporate world as a stockbroker for over 10 years but feeling somewhat unfulfilled. I desperately wanted to make some changes in my life. I knew I required some downtime to decide what new direction I wanted my life to take. I resigned from my position and set about to re-discover what it was that made me feel happy and would bring me a sense of accomplishment. A lot of people thought I had lost my mind and a few of them were quite vocal about it. But this process of re-evaluation turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.

Creating What Comes Naturally
During that time, I relocated to a quaint, artsy little town and it is there that I discovered the world of art glass. For as long as I can remember I have been enchanted by color and design. I have no formal training in art but I began taking classes and experimenting with glass. I create what comes to me naturally. I bought a kiln and started selling my jewelry to friends. I received such good responses that I now have a business called Serendipity Designs. In my in Victorian home studio I design and create fused glass jewelry, specializing in one-of-a-kind bracelets and pendants. I define my style as being simple elegance. I also design drawer pulls, picture frames, architectural back splashes and wall art.

No Coincidences
I am strong believer that there are no coincidences. Several years later I saw a show on Oprah about pole dancing and I decided that it might be interesting to take a class. I went online to search what was available in my area. Little did I know where that search would take me. I did not find the pole dancing class (although I’m not sure I was really up to climbing up that pole anyway) but what I found instead was a life-changing class called The Art of Exotic Dancing for Everyday Women. As soon as I went to the website and read about the company’s philosophy, I was hooked. The exotic dance classes are designed for every woman, of every age and shape. In part, the classes are about learning sexy dances, but the focus is really on building self-confidence and self-empowerment. The classes teach women how to connect with their real beauty and overcome inhibitions. I took one class and have been happily dancing ever since. I was so impressed that I became an instructor. I have so much fun teaching and get a real sense of personal fulfillment working with the women. I teach in San Francisco but classes are held in most major cities. They offer a variety of monthly classes, private lessons, retreats and parties. You can find out more about them at www.artofexoticdancing.com.

Although I am very busy with my new passions, I eventually did return to work in Corporate America. But I find I’m much happier with myself now and I think that can make all the difference.

Healing Work in Paradise

by Nancy Mills


Mark and I just got back from a wonderful week on the beach in the Mexican jungle. We stayed at a unique holistic resort called Mar de Jade in Chacala, north of Puerto Vallarta. We took two yoga classes a day, joined a group trip to the Isla de Coral for snorkeling, hiked through the jungle to an undeveloped beach, ate delicious Mexican food, swam in the Pacific and in the pool and met lots of terrific people. But there’s more to this resort than just a vacation.

Mar de Jade is owned and run by Laura Del Valle, MD, MPH. Laura is a talented and inspiring Boomer who grew up in both Chicago and Mexico City. She is bilingual and bicultural, a true healer who has integrated her resort with her medical clinic called Casa Clinica, which she founded in 1983.

Casa Clinica is in Las Varas, about 15 minutes away from the resort. The Clinic serves landless Mexican farmers who are employed seasonally and earn the equivalent of about six dollars a day. Laura encourages American physicians, nurses and other medical people to come and stay at Mar de Jade while working in her clinic. It’s a great concept…doing service while having fun and enjoying a break from winter up north!

I met a young woman at the pool who is a medical student. She was visiting Mar de Jade with her parents, both of whom are doctors. They all spent about three half-days a week at the clinic, improving their Spanish and helping the staff. The pace is slow and more emphasis is put on the psychosocial issues around medical care than is usually the case in the United States. The Mar de Jade website describes the need:

At the clinic, we see malnutrition, infectious diseases (such as amoebiasis, parasites, fungal skin diseases, tuberculosis, hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases), poisoning from field fumigants, alcoholism, and poor control of chronic metabolic and cardiac diseases for lack of medicines and routine check-ups. There is a tremendous need to help the patient recognize and cope better with the stress conditions in his/her life that go beyond the biological problems.

Mar de Jade also runs programs for community volunteers, so you don’t have to have a medical degree to be part of one of their volunteer programs. You can also go there to take Spanish lessons. And of course you can just be a tourista, hang out and walk their beautiful beach. But if you want a place for R&R that will allow you to give back and immerse yourself in another culture, Mar de Jade is worth the trip!

Surf's Up! Listen to the soothing sounds of Pacific Ocean surf rolling onto a Mexican beach