AARP Hearing Center
Tired of tryouts, interviews and auditions? A performance or community group that welcomes all comers might be just the pick-me-up you need! People around the country are enjoying new experiences with volunteer outfits that open their arms to all. Here are their stories.
“You’re using your body in a wonderful way” - Valerie Link
The Harlem Honeys and Bears, New York City
No tryouts are required to join the Aquadettes, a synchronized-swimming team directed by Valerie Link in California. “We want to make sure you know how to swim, of course,” says Link. “But then we teach you everything else.” Thanks to its revolving membership, the group has been swimming strong for 52 years now.
Though Coach Link has advanced osteoporosis, the perseverance of other “girls” in the troupe—notably Nancy King, at 86 the oldest active performer—inspires her to keep at it. Plus, she says, “I truly believe the water is healing.”
“We never cut a team member,” says Link, “and most of the girls have never done synchronized swimming before. They start out saying, ‘I don’t want to be seen in a bathing suit,’ but then it hits them: ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake—I’m too old to worry about that anymore!’”
We push wheelbarrows full of dirt” — Keith Shively
Serial Jam Session Oberlin, Ohio
“My job was getting in the way of my life,” says Fletcher James, 58 of Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Soon after retiring, he and his wife, Pat, joined a bunch of low-key eco-activists sprucing up local parks. The 25-member Senior Green Team gets together monthly to “do everything from picking up trash to planting perennials,” says Fletcher. “Our motto is ‘Plant it, pick it, or preserve it.’”
Fletcher was drawn to the Green Team by his love of the outdoors, the “opportunity to interact with other seniors doing something we enjoy,” and his passion for gardening: “I’m looking forward to planting some native plants this year that will attract butterflies and bees.”
And who knew community service could be a workout in disguise? “It’s a chance to burn a few more calories,” says the tennis nut. “The people are high-energy, so it’s a fun mix.”
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"The last time I'd been in a play was 1957." —Ron Olsen
The Unexpected Company, Laramie, Wyo.
Retired forester Ron Olsen was moving stage props into a theater in Laramie, Wyoming, in 2009 when a voice rang out from the stage: “Come up here and read some lines,” It was Susan McGraw, director of Laramie’s 40-member senior-theater group, The Unexpected Company.
