2011 February |

Karen and Judy’s Story: Growing Bolder on PBS

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Shafer from the TV show, Growing Bolder, which is broadcast on PBS stations nationwide. Bill, and cameraman, Jason Morrow, were on hand at the World Barefoot Center to capture the story of how I met Judy “The Old Lady” Myers and went back to barefoot water skiing after becoming deaf from a barefooting fall as a teen. Bill is the Executive Vice President of Growing Bolder Media and was a news anchor for WESH Channel 2 for 25 years. From the moment I met Bill, I was instantly comfortable with him and it was easy to see why he is considered one of America’s best storytellers– within minutes, he was entertaining us with stories of people he interviewed over the years!

I first discovered the Growing Bolder website while doing some research on Banana George for a book that I’m working on. From the first moment I set eyes on the site, I was intrigued by the stories of people living bold, exciting lives. Growing Bolder is about folks who break the boundaries of ageism, and it’s reflected in their motto: “It’s not about age, it’s about attitude.” Growing Bolder reminds us that we don’t have to settle for ho-hum lives as we get older– we can break the stereotypes and reinvent ourselves along the way.

After interviewing me and Judy– Bill and Jason joined us in the boat with Keith St. Onge. “Watch me fall in front of the camera,” I dryly remarked to Judy as we walked toward the dock. Sure enough, I went tumbling in the water on the first deep water start. There’s a lesson right there– don’t go entertaining negative thoughts or you’ll put them right into action.

“Watch what she does on water,” I told Bill, as Judy got ready to do some barefooting. “You won’t believe she’s 68!” It was amusing to watch Bill’s mouth fall open as Judy did one foots, toe holds, tumble turns and backwards. When it was my turn, I shakily lifted my foot for a short one-foot ride and then did some backwards barefooting on shoes. I ditched the shoes to try a backwards start on my feet and made it up for a very brief ride before falling over. Judy claims it is an official “you got up and rode it” start, but I’ll have to wait to see the evidence on the Growing Bolder show.

Growing Bolder is broadcast on over 250 PBS stations. To check if it will be shown in your area: Growing Bolder TV by Zip Code. If you don’t see your local station listed, you can contact your station and ask them to add the show to their line up.

“I feel like I’ve known you for fifteen years,” Bill said as he hugged me goodbye. “Except you’re not that old!” he grinned.

Karen, Bill and Keith

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Women’s Barefoot Week Featured in Waterski Magazine

Back in November, 2010, I spent a week barefooting with gals from all over the U.S. We gathered at the World Barefoot Center for a week of fun skimming on the water. Waterski magazine joined us for a morning and took a snapshot of all of us barefooting off two booms, two boats (see below). The article and short clip about my return to barefooting are in the March issue of Waterski magazine.

Waterskier magazine included a blurb about Women’s week in their newsletter (reprinted below). The World Barefoot Center will host another Women’s Barefoot Week in November and it promises to fill up fast, so reserve your spot! This is your only chance to see Keith St. Onge, David Small and Swampy in a dress!

WOMEN’S BAREFOOT WEEK

Judy “Old Lady” Meyers, 67, is on a mission to prove that barefooting is not just a sport for the physically young, but is a sport that everyone, especially women of all ages, can safely enjoy.

Judy organized the recent “Women’s Week” barefoot clinic at the World Barefoot Center, Nov. 1-6, in Winter Haven, Fla. Fifteen women’s barefooters – 12 over the age of 40, with four of those being over age 60 – enjoyed a week of barefooting and camaraderie.

‘Footers pictured above are (back row, left-to-right): Keith St. Onge and Lauren Lindeman, World Barefoot Center; Karen Putz, Chicago, Ill.; Claudia Landon, Post Falls, Idaho; Judy Myer, Alpine, Calif.; Coach Gary “Swampy” Bouchard, World Barefoot Center; Valerie Shinn, Redmond, Wash.; David Small, World Barefoot Center; Lorraine Piskura, New Fairfield, Conn; (Kneeling, left-to-right): Charlene Portman, Clearwater, Fla.; Joann O’Connor, Oshkosh, Wis.; Kay Wiser, Winter Haven, Fla.; and Lisa Browning, Winter Haven, Fla.

For information about women’s barefooting and future events, contact Judy at oldbarefooter@mac.com.

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A Size Six? You Gotta Be Kidding

Over on AOL That’s Fit, I shared my story of losing weight and taking up barefoot water skiing again. Here’s the link:

Karen Rediscovered Her Passion

The story was posted earlier in the week and was featured on the front of the AOL website several times. Emails, tweets and Facebook messages have been coming in, mostly with people expressing shock at the before picture. At a recent ZVRS presentation, a senior citizen came up to me and said, “Wow, you lost weight! That’s much better! You were so fat before!” Gotta love those seniors, they tell it like it is, in colorful sign language.

My oldest son even did a double-take at the photo of me. “Mom, I didn’t realize you were that… big,” he said. He glanced at me and then came over and gave me a hug.

Debra Poneman, the gal behind the “Yes to Success” seminars, said, “I nearly fell off my chair when I saw the photo of you at 220 on the That’s Fit article.”

Well, Debra, you and me, both. I guess that’s why I avoided the scale and the mirror for a long, long time.

I still have a ways to go to get rid of the rest of the pounds. It’s a work in progress. During the last couple of weeks, I have been going to Bikram Yoga. Most days, I actually enjoy the challenge of getting through 90 minutes of poses in a hot, hot, hot room. Then there are other days when I want to run screaming out of the room into a tub of ice.

The most amusing part of the whole losing weight saga has been the comments left on the That’s Fit story. Here’s one:

I am really happy for her and her weight loss. But somehow I find myself wondering when I read this article and many magazine articles where people are said to “finally buy a size 6 jean” at 168 lbs??? I bobble between 158-162 and I am in a 12 comfortably and can still squeeze in my 10′s on a good day. I might get one leg in a 6. Exactly what kind of jeans are these people buying??

I have two pairs of size six jeans, one from St. John’s Bay and the other from Target. At 168 pounds, people are scratching their heads trying to figure out how that could possibly be true. I wonder the same thing myself at times, because I weigh exactly the same as I did back in November when the barefooting photo was taken, yet have gone down two sizes since then. But then again, jeans vary in sizes like crazy. I can’t get into a size six in jeans from Eddie Bauer.

So to give you an idea of my jeans one year ago and my jeans today, take a look:

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Life is… Full.

Life has ramped up to the point where every day is incredibly full and time spins by in a flash. ZVRS has taken off with the Z4 now on the iPod Touch and the iPhone4. It was really neat to be able to call my mother-in-law on the iPod Touch. I also used it to talk to my Dad at the rehabilitation center– but I nearly had a heart attack at the conversation: A Call to the Nursing Home.

Twenty eleven is proving to be the year of stories in the media. This morning, my story was shared on AOL’s That’s Fit blog: Karen Re-Discovered Her Passion. The M Projects released an interview that was filmed last month in Florida: The Pearls: Karen Putz Interview. The Hot Mammas Project Case Study is a site that focuses on mentors for women: Karen Putz, Unwrap Your Passion.

In January, I attended the “Yes to Success” seminar given by Debra Poneman. It was an amazing weekend and I learned a lot from Debra. She is doing another seminar in April in Chicago and I highly recommend it for anyone who is looking to make some changes in their life. Debra will provide a sign language interpreter upon request. You can register and find more info here: Yes to Success. In the photo below, Debra is seen with Janet Attwood, author of one of my cherished books, The Passion Test. I highly recommend Janet’s book if you’re exploring how to pursue your passion in life.
Tomorrow night, I will be attending the Soul of Leadership presentation by Deepak Chopra. Deepak took Debra’s seminar more than twenty years ago. I guess you could say that “Yes to Success” really worked for him!

In two weeks, I’ll be heading back down to what is becoming my second home, the World Barefoot Center. We’ll be meeting up with the crew from Growing Bolder — they have a great website and a show on PBS. There are all kinds of stories on the site of people who are living bold lives and doing things that they love, no matter the age. Judy Myers and I are planning to share our story of how we met and took up an extreme sport despite not being part of the twenty-something crowd. Gotta love the Growing Bolder motto: “It’s not about age, it’s about attitude.”

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Karen and Judy’s Story: Growing Bolder on PBS

Women’s Barefoot Week Featured in Waterski Magazine

A Size Six? You Gotta Be Kidding

Life is… Full.

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