AGING GRACEFULLY - MAYBE

 by Anne Montgomery

I have worked out most of my life. I started ice skating atfive. I skied and swam. When I was 24, I started officiating sports and calledfootball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, and basketball games, an avocation I practicedfor 40 years. When I was 30, I got my first health club membership and I havehad one ever since.

So, I’m a long-time gym rat. I’ve lifted weights, utilizedaerobics equipment, and practiced yoga, but I’m primarily a lap swimmer. Imention this because recently I turned the golden corner for those of us whospend time at the gym. The reason? Silver Sneakers.

For the uninformed, Silver Sneakers is a health and fitness program that provides gym access and fitness classes for people 65 and older. It's covered by some Medicare plans. That means I no longer haveto shell out those monthly fees to the health club.

The idea, of course, is to keep old people moving so they’reless likely to succumb to problems like heart disease, broken bones from falls,high-blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and obesity. If people get exercise,chances are they won't become ill or injured, which keeps those Medicare costsdown.

I've been swimming laps regularly for 35 years, so I am prettycomfortable working out.

I was feeling pretty smug the day I walked into the club andasked to be moved to the Silver Sneakers rolls. I had just finished swimming athousand meters – sadly, I used to swim two thousand, but as I’ve already intimated,I’m old.

“Of course! I’d be happy to help,” a tall, twenty-somethingsmiled down at me. “Sit right here. Just show me your ID and your membershipcard, Ms. Montgomery.”

I noted he was very solicitous.

After putting the important bits of information into thecomputer and handing me my new key fob, he placed both elbows on the desk.“Now, we can provide you with a free one-hour counseling session.”

“What for?”

He tilted his head. “To help you learn how to work out.”

I squinted. Did I look like I needed help finding my way aroundthe gym? Did I look like I spent my days on the couch eating Ding Dongs? Did Ilook like I didn’t know a free weight from a foam roller?

Then, I had an I-glimpsed-myself-in-a-store-window moment. I knowyou’ve done it. You walk by a reflective surface and the person you see staringback is not the one you always imagined. I was forced to consider how this niceyoung man saw me. He smiled sweetly. I stared back, realizing I might nowappear to be a little old lady.

I said I’d think about the offer. It certainly wouldn’t hurt tosee if there’s anything I’ve been missing. I thanked him and left. Though Istared at the floor whenever I got close to a window.

This is my latest release. It’s Native American Literature andU.S. Historical Fiction. Picking a genre definitely is not easy.

The past and present collide when a tenacious reporter seeks information on an eleventh century magician…and uncovers more than she bargained for.

In 1939, archeologists uncovered a tomb at the Northern Arizona site called Ridge Ruin. The man, bedecked in fine turquoise jewelry and intricate bead work, was surrounded by wooden swords with handles carved into animal hooves and human hands. The Hopi workers stepped back from the grave, knowing what the Moochiwimi sticks meant. This man, buried nine hundred years earlier, was a magician.

Former television journalist Kate Butler hangs on to her investigative reporting career by writing freelance magazine articles. Her research on The Magician shows he bore some European facial characteristics and physical qualities that made him different from the people who buried him. Her quest to discover The Magician’s origin carries her back to a time when the high desert world was shattered by the birth of a volcano and into the present-day dangers of archeological looting where black market sales of antiquities can lead to murder.

Former television journalist Kate Butler hangs on to her investigative reporting career by writing freelance magazine articles. Her research on The Magician shows he bore some European facial characteristics and physical qualities that made him different from the people who buried him. Her quest to discover The Magician’s origin carries her back to a time when the high desert world was shattered by the birth of a volcano and into the present-day dangers of archaeological looting where black market sales of antiquities can lead to murder.

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Anne Montgomery has worked as a television sportscaster, newspaper and magazine writer, teacher, amateur baseball umpire, and high school football referee. She worked at WRBL‐TV in Columbus, Georgia, WROC‐TV in Rochester, New York, KTSP‐TV in Phoenix, Arizona, ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, where she anchored the Emmy and ACE award‐winning SportsCenter, and ASPN-TV as the studio host for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Montgomery has been a freelance and staff writer for six publications, writing sports, features, movie reviews, and archeological pieces.

When she can, Anne indulges in her passions: rock collecting, scuba diving, football refereeing, and playing her guitar.

Learn more about Anne Montgomery on her website and Wikipedia . Stay connected on Facebook , Linkedin , and Twitter .