2009: A Year of Bolder Thinking

Posted December 31, 2008, 10:30 am in Entertainment


Dear Growing Bolder Insider,

Happy New Year! We are looking forward to a big, bold 2009, and hope you are too. Let's face it -- you're either growing older or you're growing bolder, and there's no in-between. We'd love to hear about your resolutions (and help keep you accountable), so post them in a blog or start a forum on GrowingBolder.com.

One of the most exciting things that we're celebrating in the new year is The Growing Bolder TV Show. It currently airs on WMFE-TV (PBS) in Central Florida, but we're making plans to syndicate it and also to stream it on the Web so everyone can get the Growing Bolder attitude.

This Sunday, January 4, the show will be hosted from a very special place -- the home of Roger and Camilla McGuinn. Roger, the founder of the Byrds and a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, is a Growing Bolder member and a great friend. He and Camilla invited us inside for an exclusive look at their eco-friendly home, Roger's private recording studio and more, and they shared with us their music memories as well as plans for the future. So tune in this Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on WMFE-TV, and immediately after the show airs, check The Growing Bolder TV Show page for all things McGuinn.

We also want to help you get a jumpstart on a great 2009, so the GB staff has gone through the hundreds of interviews from The Growing Bolder Radio Show, and picked out some of our favorites. It's not easy, because we have celebrities, world-renowned doctors, CEOs, champion masters athletes and many more on the show every week. So, enjoy the list, and if you'd like to discover some new favorites of your own, be sure to go to The Growing Bolder Radio Show page on GrowingBolder.com.

Big Names
Do you ever wonder what your favorite teen idol is up to these days?  We've tracked down some of the biggest stars and found out that their creative juices are still flowing.

Peter Frampton was a teen sensation in The Herd, a hard rock hero in Humble Pie and an international sensation with the 1976 release of the live album "Frampton Comes Alive." He tells Growing Bolder that his iconic album, which is the fourth-best-selling live album in history, made it possible for him to still be exploring and creating with his instrument today.

He was perhaps the biggest teen sensation in history. David Cassidy was simply an actor who landed the role of Keith Partridge, lead singer for the TV family, the Partridge Family. Soon his schedule became a whirlwind of promotional appearances, concerts and show production. He said he had to leave the show to save himself from himself. Now, he's sharing big news with Growing Bolder about an exciting new project involving the whole Cassidy clan!

Cheryl Tiegs burst onto the scene at 17 years old, becoming one of the world's first supermodels. And throughout her long and successful career, she proved that beautiful women could have character, intelligence and depth. She is still smashing stereotypes today and fighting the good fight to encourage people to live healthier lifestyles.

Ingrid Newkirk started PETA -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- in her living room 27 years ago with five members. Today there are over 2 million members all over the world. But this interview isn't about PETA -- it's about changing the world. In her new book, "One Can Make A Difference," Ingrid collected essays from celebrities like Paul McCartney and the Dalai Lama to help you feel empowered about the possibilities of change.

Cancer Survivors
"Grandma Luge" Anne Abernathy has qualified for six different Winter Olympics, and along the way, she has accomplished two amazing feats -- she's the only woman over the age of 50 to make it to the Games and she's the oldest woman to ever compete in the Olympics. But now she's competing in her toughest event yet -- beating cancer.

After nursing her ailing husband, mother and other family members, Lillie Doss was dealt another blow -- breast cancer. She felt hopeless, but then, for some reason, she started running … and running … and running! Before she knew it, her outlook had completely changed. She lost weight, started traveling and began to compete. Here's the amazing part -- she's closing in on 80 years old and she's won more than 500 medals and trophies for her marathons and 50 k races (31 miles).

Sigrid Olsen's life couldn't have been better. Not only did she have her own fashion line made for and by baby boomers, she had 54 stores and sales that peaked at $100 million. Then, suddenly, it was all gone. The fashion line was shuttered by its parent company and Sigrid was diagnosed with breast cancer. "Every challenge makes me stronger!" she tells Growing Bolder. Find out how she's starting over with a new career and a new outlook on life.

World's Oldest Achievers
Looking for a reason to keep going? These individuals are proving that a full and active life has no age limit.

The world's oldest musician is closing in on 101 and still performing live! Bill Tapia, who is known as the Duke of Uke, played with Bing, Louis and Fats and still has the wit and skill to delight audiences all across America. Bill, who pioneered the Hawaiian swing sound, tells Growing Bolder that he still attracts groupies on the road -- only he can't remember what to do with them!

Not only is Ken Mink the oldest player in college basketball, he's twice as old as the school he attends. At the age of 73, he's the oldest college basketball player -- ever. Not bad for a guy who got expelled from college back in 1956. The "New York Times" ran a feature, Ken went one-on-one with Regis live on his TV show and now he's telling his story to Growing Bolder.

Milton Hebald's art is on display at the Smithsonian, in Central Park, in LA, Florida, and even Switzerland and Italy. He recently donated a terra cotta bust of Walt Whitman to the Culver City Senior Center, and did we mention that he's 91 years old and still creating great art?

When a lifelong soldier wanted to serve his country in Iraq, he had to get a special waiver from the secretary of the Army because of his age. Col. Ronald Gallimore is a 59-year-old grandfather and he says he couldn't imagine not joining his fellow soldiers in this war. Gallimore is the oldest jump master on active duty in Iraq and he called Growing Bolder from his offices in one of Saddam's old palaces in Baghdad.

At 106, Bill Hargrove still bowls in a weekly league near his home in Georgia despite his failing eyesight. He explains to Growing Bolder how he started bowling and why he continues to do it every week.

For more than 50 years, Madonna Buder has taken on the prefix "Sister" after becoming a nun. And 30 years ago, she added runner to her resume, making her the "Nun on the Run." She's completed more than 40 marathons and 34 Ironman triathlons and says she uses her time while running to talk to God. Two years ago, at the age of 75, Buder became the oldest woman in history to finish the Ironman World Championships and has become an in-demand motivational speaker.

Go Green in 2009
Looking for ways to decrease your carbon footprint in the new year? Growing Bolder talked to some of greenest folks around to discover simple ways we can all pitch in to save Mother Earth.

Emmy Award-nominated actor Ed Begley Jr. learned as a young boy never to waste anything. He was a starving actor down on his luck in 1970 when he bought an electric car. He said it wasn't as much to help the environment as it was to help him afford to commute. But the bug bit, and soon, he was so passionate about it, that he was labeled a "weirdo." Now he lives in a solar-powered home, which also provides the energy to run his car, and he's developed a solar cooker that is making it possible for impoverished families in Africa to be able to afford to prepare meals.

These days, it seems everyone and everything is going green.  But are all those so-called green products really earth friendly? Or is it all just clever marketing? NBC News correspondent and author Simran Sethi is the co-creator of TreeHugger.com, the largest environmental site on the Internet, and she has taken her message of environmental ethics to Al Gore, Oprah and Deepak Chopra. Simran helps us to understand whether some popular products really are green or not.

Sure we'd all like to live greener, but who wants to give up creature comforts like cosmetics and chic clothes? According to Sophie Uliano, you don't have to! Sophie is a passionate environmentalist, with a twist. You probably saw her on Oprah's show with her pal Julia Roberts talking about all the harmful ingredients in cleaning supplies and cosmetics. She says there is a way to live greener without giving up the glamour.

Unforgettable Characters
When Kelly Perkins was 30 years old, she noticed even at rest her heart would beat like crazy. It turns out she had a virus that irreparably damaged her heart. Only a donor would save her life. Kelly vowed to make good use of the incredible gift of life she'd received, so she climbed to the top of Mount Whitney, Mount Fuji and Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness about the incredible need for organ donation.

When Roz Savage was in her mid-30s, she slammed the brakes on her life to take a look at the big picture. She sat down and wrote her own obituary. She read it over and over. Then she wrote what she wished her obituary would be. She decided to make drastic changes in her life to be the person she wished she was. That journey led her to row solo across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Now in her 40s, she hopes to be an example of what an ordinary person is capable of if they put their heart, mind and soul into it.

Terry Peterson has become a worldwide sensation as one of the most unusual extreme athletes around the world. He does tricks like most extreme sports enthusiasts, except, Peterson does them with only one wheel! He's known as the UniGeezer and rightly so, because Peterson has turned unicycle riding into a spectator sport. At 52, Peterson's tricks are spreading all over YouTube and his stunts have people 20 years younger than him in awe.

So, hopefully we've given you a few reasons to Grow Bolder in 2009. Please let us know what you'd like to see on GrowingBolder.com, and we'll continue to work as hard as we can to give you a community where you can learn from others while sharing your own stories.

Happy New Year!

Growing Bolder


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