You won’t see future possibilities if you don’t!  The good news is that since we now live longer, late bloomers have more time to blossom and grow.  Are you one of them?  Then relegate expiration dates to meat and dairy, not to yourself.

Had Wally Blume not left his job at age 55 and used his savings to found Denali Flavors, we might not be indulging in oh-so-seductive Moose Tracks ice cream.  Adding 39 more ice cream flavors, within 15 years he was raking in $80 million a year.

Or, consider 52-year-old Carol Gardner, recently divorced, heavily in debt, with no job and two broken legs.  Having little else save an adopted bulldog named Zelda, Gardner created a humorous greeting card and gift company which she dubbed “Zelda Wisdom”, starring of course, Zelda.  Starting in her living room with 24 designs, she sold more than a million cards within 6 months.  Her annual earnings hover around the $50 million mark.

And then there is Sam Teitelbaum, an expert on carbonated air filters. When his wife developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, he created a more effective, cost efficient air purifier, now used for military, industrial, and medical applications.  He was 61.

Late-in-life success stories like these can and should inspire the rest of us to discover what drives us, where our passion lies, and how best to utilize it.

One roadblock to blooming late, says UC Davis Professor and psychologist, Dean Simonton, is not an aging brain, but our “closed-minded culture.”

Forbes Magazine Publisher Rich Karlgaard would agree.  He states, “People have this capacity to blossom at any age. . . There are people of latent skills out there that because they didn’t test well at age 16 or 17, might not have gone to the right school, might have made a couple career mistakes–that suddenly find themselves, and there is this enormous talent to be tapped.”  But, he says, they lack confidence, and society doesn’t realize this process of self-discovery.  He adds, “I think that’s a human tragedy really.”

Karlgaard authored the book, Late Bloomers, The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement.  He himself rose from a mediocre academic career at Stanford University, followed by a series of menial jobs before awaking to an inner motivation which eventually drove him to the success he now enjoys.

Passion springs from within, as much a part of you as your hair and eye color, your sense of humor, your likes and dislikes.  It may be lying dormant, but it’s there to be discovered.

Novelist Frank McCourt wrote his Pulitzer Prize winning, Angela’s Ashes, at 63.  At 65, Harland Sanders cashed his $105 Social Security check to open Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Chef Julia Child debuted her TV show at 50, and Martha Stewart was 40 when she began her catering business.  Remember the thesaurus that carried you through high school English?  Peter Roget didn’t start compiling it until he was 61.  Need we mention Grandma Moses?

There’s room for all late bloomers, whether they ride the tide to fame and fortune or just discover what makes them happy.  So, embrace your possibilities, tardy sprouts, and face forward!

Constance Watkins

Barbara was not a flamboyant divorcee, but what she was, was tired of being single. In her small town, available men were as scarce as unindicted politicians, so she struggled along with two teenaged children, a mediocre job, and a mortgage. Then, she discovered online dating.

Friends cautioned her, but loneliness being aggressive and painful, she began searching online for a compatible and handsome man, preferably one with deep pockets.

Not many weeks after, she arrived at work, excitedly waving an airline ticket, round-trip, sent by a presumedly compatible handsome man with deep pockets. “He wants me to come for a week!”

“Oh, Barb, are you sure this is wise? He could be a mass murderer! At least leave your family his profile and a phone number.” There was no dissuading her, and the next week off she flew. True story. The good news is, she returned to relate the following strange encounter.

Upon their meeting at the airport, Mr. Average Not-So-Deep Pockets drove her in total silence to a remote cabin deep in the wintry north woods, where for the entire week he never so much as spoke to her.

Each morning he left early, returned late, ate in silence, and went to bed. Barbara spent six days huddled under a blanket, feeding the inefficient woodstove and reading whatever she could find — Bow Hunter, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life? No electricity. No indoor plumbing. No cell phone service. No transportation. To his credit, Mr. Average N-S-D-P did deposit her at the airport unharmed.

Believing she had learned a cheap and valuable lesson, her co-workers were stunned several weeks later when she announced she was going to the east coast to visit a young midshipman she’d met online.

The midshipman did not waste his time. After meeting her at the Greyhound Bus terminal, he went out to bring his car around, and never returned. That was the last anyone heard from Barbara about online dating.

According to Pew Research, most Americans feel online dating is a good way to meet others. The number of 55 to 64-year-olds using online dating services has doubled to 12% since 2013, but only about 5% of now-married online daters met their spouses through a dating site.

Eharmony.com reports that 20% of current relationships began online, with more male users than females. They also report that at age 26, women are pursued more than men. However, at age 48, men have twice the pursuers as women.

Findings also reveal that more than half the people lie about their age, height, weight, and income. Many women use photos of their younger selves, and men lie about their jobs. Eharmony points out that the best chance of finding love is still through friendship.

There are hundreds of dating sites, some catering to specific ages and interests. Always exercise caution, don’t provide personal information to a stranger; meet only in public, preferably for coffee or lunch where it’s easier to get away if necessary.

Keep in mind that of 3.5 million profiles scanned by a monthly screening company, 500,000 proved fraudulent. And the FBI reports romance fraud as second only in dollar amount to investment fraud.

To quote Sgt. Esterhaus of TV’s Hill Street Blues, “Let’s be careful out there!”

– Constance Watkins