Twelve years ago, when I was 50, I wondered what 60 or 70 would be like? I looked around and saw only one style of living. It’s not fair, I thought. Young people have so many styles to choose from, but older people have just one choice. So I decided to do something about it, something practical.
    I worked on my fitness by joining exercise classes in town. A few years later, my husband and I moved to a retirement community, （退休了的人住的社区）and I wanted to teach aerobic （有氧运动的） classes. The community center wouldn’t give me a room to teach in, so I had to walk around and find any available empty room.
One day, the community center staff came to me and asked if I would help with the entertainment for a Hawaiian luau （夏威夷式宴会） they were putting on. I said yes. Then I talked five other ladies into dancing with me. We performed the hula（呼啦舞） and a war chant （战争号子）and brought the house down. Someone had a camera and took pictures, and then sent them to our local paper. We got requests for more engagements, which in turn led to more publicity and yet more engagements. Soon we had invitations from all over the country. The Dancing Grannies （劲舞大妈）were born!
   I think the real secret of the Dancing Grannies is our attitude. I was raised extremely poor — no-food poor. If we wanted toys we had to make things up to play with, so I learned early to be very creative. And you know, I think being poor was one of the best things that ever happened to me because I learned to look for treasures.
    That’s what I’m still doing today — looking for the treasure in growing old. I’m getting better and better.