Virgil Winston:Marketing Guru
I recently had the pleasure of dining with my late grandmother’s best friend, Ms. Beth Ann Brimmstein in celebration of her 100th birthday. She decided to splurge and have a piece of pie (cherry), but still ate her usual supper of grilled fish and steamed vegetables with a large green salad. I asked her why she didn’t go for a more decadent meal and she quipped, “I lived to be 100 by eating healthy foods…and I am not planning on going anywhere anytime soon.” Point taken. I guiltily changed my order, pushed away the cheese bread I had been munching on and decided to find out what else Beth Ann had to say about growing old gracefully.
The centegenarian told me that humor was a big part of successful aging and that the ability to laugh has gotten her through a Depression, several wars, two husbands, four children, ten grandchildren and a second career as an actress. I had not seen Beth Ann in close to twenty years so I was surprised to learn that at the age of 85, Beth Ann Brimmstein from Dayton, Ohio had taken up acting. She was discovered by a neighbor who was casting a mattress commercial and has been acting in television ever since. They say Hollywood is obsessed with youth culture, but I guess there are exceptions to every rule. We chatted about her experiences working with the likes of Judd Apatow and Seth Rogan and then she took me back to her apartment to show me a few of her recent commercials.
I had a lovely time and was inspired by Beth’s spirit, spunk and humor. I learned a lesson too—you are only as old as you feel and it is, quite literally, never too late to start a new project, hobby, or career. Why not encourage your clients and employees to start a new project by gifting them with a 16 ft. Rubber/Plastic Tape imprinted with your company logo? That way your brand will be associated with both longevity and building new beginnings.
Well, I am off to prepare for National Yo-Yo Day—I’m trying to perfect “walking the dog” before Saturday. In the meantime, remember the words of Beth Ann Brimmstein, “I may be long in the tooth, but I’ve still got a spring in my step and a smile on my face!”