COLUMN: Writing on the Wall

Here she comes — clear the runway!

Ms. Senior New York America's Miss Congeniality 2015: The jewels in the crown

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What sane, over-60 woman would get on a stage, with dreams of earning a glittery crown by singing, gliding across the floor wearing a sequenced evening gown, culminating in her reciting her own philosophy of life? Sane or not, it’s exactly what I did this May as a contestant in the Ms. New York Senior America contest.

Whether it’s when the kids leave the nest, or we get divorced, or we become reluctant widows — or maybe because it just feels right — there comes a time in a woman’s life when she needs to reinvent herself, or return to an old love or passion: art, writing or traveling — or maybe it’s just time to try something new and adventurous.

My adventurous spirit is not the skydiving, zip-lining or parasailing type — I like my feet planted firmly on the ground. My nature is more about sticking my neck out to see how far I can go without tipping over and falling on my face. So, since I turned ‘The age of elegance’ last December, I did something daring and scary: I entered a pageant.

I actually saw the ad calling for contestants a few years ago in 50-Plus Magazine, and talked about it with my husband. “You should do it!” he said. But I was too young (60 years of age is earliest one can try out.) So, one Saturday morning this past March, and with my husband’s posthumous blessing, I did just that.

I envied these women when I met them. They were vibrantly, beautiful, and smelled really good. It wasn’t necessarily their features or their figures, but their inner selves showed through and shouted, “Oh, no, not yet, ol’ creaky rocking chair!”

On that first audition at a Long Island library, these senior ladies flabbergasted me. How could they — or any woman, for that matter — look so good on a Saturday morning? Their hair was done, makeup was applied, all with clean and coordinating outfits and shiny bling — they wore it all proudly and beautifully. And they were adorned with their red, white and blue sashes, proclaiming “Ms. Senior NY America 2014,” “Ms. Congeniality 2012” and more — wow!

What the heck was I thinking? I scraped the coffee stain off of my blouse, put on some pink lipstick in the ladies room, and was sure that I was in the wrong place.

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