Women over 60 have lived through six amazing decades. Throughout our lives, with a curious and adventurous nature, we have challenged the status quo and celebrated our independence and freedom. Many of us have had to build enormous emotional reserves to manage and survive difficult times. As I have seen time and time again in the Sixty and Me community, we are resourceful, resilient and tough minded, but also questioning, sensitive and often insecure. If you try to find a common denominator, you might identify a quality that can be best described as bohemian. For our 30-year old sons and daughters, it might be hard to see us as eclectic, bold and adventurous, but, trust me, we are! To understand our adventurous, bohemian nature, it is useful to reflect on the icons that shaped our generation. One icon in particular embodies our passion and verve -- the VW Bus!
Like the VW Bus, we are Enjoying Retirement but Still Full of Life
Like many women in their 60s, the VW Bus is enjoying "retirement." Despite, or perhaps because of, this fact, the VW Bus brings back vivid memories of how our lives were shaped in the 1960s. Understanding why the VW Bus is so significant sheds light on the story of the men and women of the Boomer Generation. It underscores their values of independence and freedom. It also represents my generation's insatiable desire to live life fully and with passion. We want everything to be controllable, substantive, individual, colorful and fun. It represents possibility in its most physical form -- the lure of the "open road" and the potential for self-discovery. It offers the possibility to take your home with you. It provides the ability to find and demonstrate who you are through the vehicle you drive.
To Boomers and VW Buses, Life is One Big Road Trip
The rear engine Volkswagen bus dates back 63 years to 1950, when the company pioneered the "minivan" category. You can even thank the VW Bus for the iPhone and iPad you have in your pocket. Legend has it, in 1975, Steve Jobs sold the one he owned to raise the $1,300 he and Steve Woziak needed to set up Apple Computer's first production line. The friendly VW Bus has been featured in countless cameo appearances in films and TV shows and is the stuff of legend, fantasy, sexuality, drugs, drink and rock and roll. The VW van is so deeply embedded in popular culture, that it will likely live on forever in the imagination of the Boomer generation.
It's the Journey that Counts, and we have the Memories to Prove it!
The VW Bus is magical; it has a charm that no other vehicle has ever achieved. Every memory of the VW Bus is also unique. Perhaps you remember being a child, scrunched in the back with your brother and sister, bouncing along on a cross country adventure. Or, you may remember your life as a hippie, riding in a paisley painted van, crammed with friends and hitch hikers on a cross country mecca to San Francisco. When you see a picture of a VW Bus, you can't help but want to share your story and your experiences. You want to recall the color and year of your vehicle, its name, where you went, where you stopped and what happened next. The VW Bus is a story and smile generating machine!
Everyone's VW Bus Story is Unique. What's Yours?
Last summer, I rented a converted VW Bus called "Ermintrude" for a weekend on the Isle of Wight. It looked fabulous with its lime green paint and red and white striped pop-up roof. It was so much fun! So, I asked the 39,000 members of Sixty and Me if I was the only one who fantasized about buying a second hand VW Bus and driving across Europe. Their replies were so fun and represented everything that I love about my generation!
Veronica R: I want one! I would be in my element. I would be so happy living off grid. Nothing could make me happier.
Randi C: I bought a Minnie Winnie and drove it all around the country putting 11,000 miles on it -- by myself. Got a little lonely at times but had some great adventures.
Judy H: My dream is to join up with other women and just spend my days driving as far as I want, stopping as long as I want, and painting all of it!
Sue B: The gypsy in me loves to pack up every 4-6 months and find somewhere new. The parent/gramma in me says stay put.
Toby S. For me, it's buying a small refurbished AirStream and exploring everything within driving distance (I mean everything!)
Glenys D: Nothing would make me happier.
Nancy H: On the top of my Bucket List.
Eileen D: I went trekking across the U.S. in my hippie van. It was a tremendous experience. After that, I felt as if I could do anything!
Ximena X: I did have adventures with my "beauty", a round trip from Argentina, down to Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia!
Jacqueline G: Love love love road trips!
Connie C: Did Route 66 from Chicago to its end in Santa Monica. The most fabulous road ever!
Lin M: Drove the Rockies with my best friend (both in our 60's). Brilliant and would do it again.
Mary B: Yes I've done trips across deserts on silk routes in Western China and Uzbekistan, plus in Western Territory, Australia
Millions of women (and men) younger than 60 crave the gypsy lifestyle. Unfortunately, most have other priorities and only a few have realized that life is short and the road waits for no one. If you are one of the lucky few young people who still find the time to hit the road, keep your eyes peeled for a lime-green VW Bus -- it may just be your grandmother.
Did you ever own or ride in a VW Bus? What was its name? What color was it? Where did you travel? What is your most powerful memory? Please add your comments below or in the Sixty and Me Forum for women over 60.
Betty White
AP
Doesn't it seem like Betty White has been around since David torpedoed Goliath with a slingshot? Our favorite golden girl is only 94 though. Even though Miss Betty White began her career in the 1940s on radio, and later appeared on late night talk shows and game shows (including "Password") in the 50s and 60s, she wasn't really a household name until, at the age of 51, she began playing "The Happy Homemaker" Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1973-1977).
Morgan Freeman
Getty
Who doesn't love Morgan Freeman? This Academy Award winner paid his dues and then some. Freeman worked for several years as an actor, but really came into his own playing chauffeur Hoke Colburn in "Driving Miss Daily" at the age of 52 (although he was 50 when he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the film "Street Smart").
Sharon Osbourne
Getty
Heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne has been famous for over 40 years as lead singer of the English band Black Sabbath. His wife, Sharon, however, did not become a household name until their family reality show "The Osbournes" premiered on MTV in 2002. Just barely 50, Sharon became a media darling, which opened up many doors. She went on to become a judge on "America's Got Talent" and has been co-host of the CBS daytime show "The Talk" since it debuted in October 2010.
Regis Philbin
Getty
Regis Philbin was comedian Joey Bishop's sidekick on the ABC television show "The Joey Bishop Show" from 1967 to 1969 and hosted his own local talk show -- "A.M. Los Angeles" -- from 1975 to 1983. But his name wasn't exactly on the tip of our collective tongues until he became a daytime staple with Kathie Lee Gifford in 1988 on "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" when he was 57. His vibrant, caustic, yet fun-loving personality pushed him over the top sometime after the show began to gain in popularity with daytime viewers.
Abe Vigoda
Getty
Born in 1921, Abe Vigoda captured the role of Salvatore Tessio in the film "The Godfather" in 1972 at the age of 51. His next big role came in 1975 when he signed on to play Sgt. Phil Fish on the television series "Barney Miller." And that's when Vigoda -- who passed away in 2016 -- really became a household name.
Tom Bergeron
Getty
Sure, Tom Bergeron became the host of "Hollywood Squares" in 1998 and of "America's Funniest Home Videos" in 2001, but he didn't really become widely known until joining the wildly popular "Dancing With the Stars." The amiable host was 50 when the show premiered in 2005. After more than 20 seasons as host, it appears he's a keeper.
Mike Wallace
Getty
Maybe Mike Wallace was well-known in some hard-core news circles, and perhaps he was on a first-name basis with a few news junkies many moons ago, but it wasn't until he laid his groundwork as a superb gotcha reporter on "60 Minutes" which he did from 1968 (after he turned 50) until 2008 -- that his star really began to shine. This well-respected news journalist sadly passed away on April 7, 2012 at the age of 93.
Samuel L. Jackson
Gabe Ginsberg via Getty Images
Born in 1948, Samuel L. Jackson appeared in more than 100 films before the age of 40. However, it was only after he landed the role of a hitman in "Pulp Fiction" in 1994 that his star really began to shine. For this performance, Jackson received a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
Andy Rooney
Getty
Andy Rooney is another personality that seems to have been around since the beginning of time, and we're all glad to have been the recipients of his off-the-wall satirical takes on human nature. In 1978, at the age of 59, Rooney began his "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" segment on the CBS news show "60 Minutes," continuing through 2011. He made us laugh, he made us cry, he made us think. It doesn't get better than that. Rooney died on November 4, 2011 at the age of 92 only a few weeks after his last appearance on the show.
Joy Behar
Getty
Joy Behar was 54 when she was cast as one of the original members of "The View," which made its debut in August 1997. A few years before that, you could catch Behar doing hilarious stand-up comedy on television. But she only became a household name sometime after "The View" became a must-see, daytime television talk show.
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