It’s not that I didn’t always see the value in the society for “others.” (With over 850,000 members globally, that’s a lot of “others.”) What’s wrong with older women having a little fun together? A number of marketers have figured out that even women who are having fun are spending money—much in evidence at the Opryland Hotel, where they were snapping up any object that wasn’t tied down as long as it was purple and/or red and preferably sparkly. And there were plenty of big name corporate sponsors who have figured out how to make even pharmaceuticals and power companies bright and shiny objects for this fun-loving crowd.

Scenes from the party:

1. Masses of boomers and beyond up and out of their chairs dancing to hardcore rock and roll.

2. Outside the ballroom door, a long line-up of walkers, which makes the scene inside that more remarkable.

3. No strangers, only sisters, all social boundaries collapsed behind the sea of red and purple.

4. “Tribal” banners hanging off of balconies, like a Mardi Gras for mid-lifers and beyond (who were spilling over SRO into places like the Jack Daniels Saloon…)

5. An elderly woman, resplendent in her colors, pushed through the voluminous gardens of Opryland by friends, taking turns. The kicker: all were wearing red clown noses.

But for me? For better or for worse, I’m still “dressing for success”, and more concerned about power plays than power playing. In my darker days, concerned that red hatters feed the stereotypes of eccentric, marginalized women who are anything but powerful--and if I weren’t so busy sticking my nose into the grindstone, it would be hoisted snobbilly aloft.

No longer. Having drank the red stuff with 4000 of my new best friends, I now really get the difference between fun and FUN. And whether or not it takes a red hat and purple dress to start having it, there’s a lesson in the Society for us all.

Carol Orsborn