Baby boomers, the new old people

AARP expo focuses on those who see 60 as prime of life

Jill Rosen

September 6, 2008

Maryann Kascscak (right) gets advice from Nintendo rep Sylvia Tan (far left) at the AARP expo. The AARP has been working to update its image as boomer enter its ranks. (Baltimore Sun photo by Glenn Fawcett / September 4, 2008)

Clutching a freshly purchased Pilates video, Liz Overstreet, who's 56, pauses for a second to think about what she, a vibrant working woman with toned arms and thick hair, is doing at, of all places, an AARP convention.

"I'm not old," Overstreet, who is from Lanham, almost scoffs. "If you're 50 or 55 or 60, you're not old. This show is about - what are they calling it? - 'life after 50.'

"We're all here looking for stuff to do, places to go, things to buy and information. Our parents were old people. This stuff is for the new old people."

As the first of the baby boomers, a generation that wants nothing to do with traditional senior citizenry, approach Social Security eligibility, AARP has bent to reach them. The organization has, institutionally, pulled itself up off of the sofa, bought a gym membership and taken a long, bracing swig of energy drink.

AARP's national expo, which closes today in Washington, reflects the new reality of aging.

Attendees are not morbidly browsing for the latest in walkers and assisted living. They're hitting seminars on online dating, making their dreams come true, retiring abroad. They're rocking out to Chaka Khan and Natalie Cole and getting inspiration from celebrities as diverse as Cal Ripken Jr., Gene Simmons of the '70s rock band KISS and Magic Johnson.

But perhaps the most revealing aspect of the show is the immense exhibit hall, where hundreds of companies are clamoring to capture business from what's perhaps the most fertile senior market of all time.

They're selling vitality, engagement, beauty and, above all, youth.

Fantasy runs through the convention like a sweet, irresistible elixir. People gulp it up, having their pictures taken from behind the wheel of a candy-apple red sports car, caressing Fender guitars, collecting brochures for exotic vacations in Egypt, Morocco and Costa Rica.

One booth is handing out pith helmets.

A lot of the vendors - there are more than 450 - have tailored their slogans to fit the audience.

Verizon Wireless: "Retired but busy."

Quaker Oats: "Find out how to become living proof."

Ancestry.com, a Web site that allows you to build an online family tree, boasts, "Your grandkids were never impressed with your record collection until now."

For many of the companies, it's their first time at an AARP event. Potential has lured them here.

Electric Motions Systems wants to sell electric bikes. To be precise, expensive electric bikes - models start at $3,500.

"This is our target market," says Tim Folk, the Virginia company's marketing director. "These aren't cheap, and it's retired people that have the disposable income. And look around - these are vital, active people here."

The people he's talking about are bustling through the aisles, tanned and athletic, toned calves above sports sandals, fanny packs belted onto sturdy bodies.

To be sure, there are still plenty of pull-on pants and loud blouses, more than a few expansive guts and unfortunate pairings of shorts and dark socks but, frumpiness aside, these folks are moving.

It's no accident that the carpet running the length of the show floor is painted to look like a road. Beep, beep! Do not get between these people and a table of freebies. (Some things about old age are timeless.)