Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Tag: barefooting

  • Karen and Judy’s Story: Growing Bolder on PBS

    Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Shafer from the TV show, Growing Bolder, which is broadcast on PBS stations nationwide.  Bill, and cameraman, Jason Morrow, were on hand at the World Barefoot Center to capture the story of how I met Judy “The Old Lady” Myers and went back to barefoot water skiing after becoming deaf from a barefooting fall as a teen.   Bill is the Executive Vice President of Growing Bolder Media and was a news anchor for WESH Channel 2 for 25 years.  From the moment I met Bill, I was instantly comfortable with him and it was easy to see why he is considered one of America’s best storytellers– within minutes, he was entertaining us with stories of people he interviewed over the years!

    I first discovered the Growing Bolder website while doing some research on Banana George for a book that I’m working on.  From the first moment I set eyes on the site, I was intrigued by the stories of people living bold, exciting lives.  Growing Bolder is about folks who break the boundaries of ageism, and it’s reflected in their motto:  “It’s not about age, it’s about attitude.”  Growing Bolder reminds us that we don’t have to settle for ho-hum lives as we get older– we can break the stereotypes and reinvent ourselves along the way.

    After interviewing me and Judy– Bill and Jason joined us in the boat with Keith St. Onge.  “Watch me fall in front of the camera,” I dryly remarked to Judy as we walked toward the dock.  Sure enough, I went tumbling in the water on the first deep water start.   There’s a lesson right there– don’t go entertaining negative thoughts or you’ll put them right into action.

    “Watch what she does on water,” I told Bill, as Judy got ready to do some barefooting.  “You won’t believe she’s 68!”   It was amusing to watch Bill’s mouth fall open as Judy did one foots, toe holds, tumble turns and backwards.   When it was my turn, I shakily lifted my foot for a short one-foot ride and then did some backwards barefooting on shoes.  I ditched the shoes to try a backwards start on my feet and made it up for a very brief ride before falling over.  Judy claims it is an official “you got up and rode it” start, but I’ll have to wait to see the evidence on the Growing Bolder show.

    Growing Bolder is broadcast on over 250 PBS stations.  To check if it will be shown in your area:  Growing Bolder TV by Zip Code.  If you don’t see your local station listed, you can contact your station and ask them to add the show to their line up.

    “I feel like I’ve known you for fifteen years,” Bill said as he hugged me goodbye.  “Except you’re not that old!” he grinned.

    Karen, Bill and Keith

  • Women’s Barefoot Week Featured in Waterski Magazine

    Back in November, 2010, I spent a week barefooting with gals from all over the U.S.  We gathered at the World Barefoot Center for a week of fun skimming on the water.  Waterski magazine joined us for a morning and took a snapshot of all of us barefooting off two booms, two boats (see below).   The article and short clip about my return to barefooting are in the March issue of Waterski magazine.

    Waterskier magazine included a blurb about Women’s week in their newsletter (reprinted below).  The World Barefoot Center will host another Women’s Barefoot Week in November and it promises to fill up fast, so reserve your spot!  This is your only chance to see Keith St. Onge, David Small and Swampy in a dress!

    WOMEN’S BAREFOOT WEEK

    Judy “Old Lady” Meyers, 67, is on a mission to prove that barefooting is not just a sport for the physically young, but is a sport that everyone, especially women of all ages, can safely enjoy.

    Judy organized the recent “Women’s Week” barefoot clinic at the World Barefoot Center, Nov. 1-6, in Winter Haven, Fla. Fifteen women’s barefooters – 12 over the age of 40, with four of those being over age 60 – enjoyed a week of barefooting and camaraderie.

    World Barefoot Center

    ‘Footers pictured above are (back row, left-to-right): Keith St. Onge and Lauren Lindeman, World Barefoot Center; Karen Putz, Chicago, Ill.; Claudia Landon, Post Falls, Idaho; Judy Myer, Alpine, Calif.; Coach Gary “Swampy” Bouchard, World Barefoot Center; Valerie Shinn, Redmond, Wash.; David Small, World Barefoot Center; Lorraine Piskura, New Fairfield, Conn; (Kneeling, left-to-right): Charlene Portman, Clearwater, Fla.; Joann O’Connor, Oshkosh, Wis.; Kay Wiser, Winter Haven, Fla.; and Lisa Browning, Winter Haven, Fla.

    For information about women’s barefooting and future events, contact Judy at oldbarefooter@mac.com.

  • Dad’s Cancer Journey

    Cancer is a crappy disease.  Just saying.

    My latest TribLocal article is a story about meeting Pat Becker this summer.  Pat is the sister of Joann O’Connor, the gal that I barefooted with in Wisconsin this summer.  Pat and Joann are tough gals.  Joann can tear up the water on her bare feet and she has me in awe every time I watch her footin’. 

    Pat was diagnosed with cancer and given a few months to live.  Her family prepared for the day that they thought they were going to lose her.  That was sixteen years ago.  Pat endured 132 chemotherapy treatments and she managed to kick the cancer on its rear end.   Pat inspires my Dad to keep going every day.  Everyone needs a “Pat” on their cancer journey.   Thanks, Pat, for reaching out to my Dad.

    Read more:  Finding Support for Cancer

  • Losing Weight — A Work in Progress

    At the beginning of this year, I joined Loser Moms in an attempt to lose weight for barefoot water skiing.  I was heading down to the World Barefoot Center in March and I wanted to lose a few pounds before getting on the water.   Part of the requirement to join was to post a picture on a personal blog.  So with a heavy (yeah, pun intended!) heart, I went searching for a picture to post.   I had to close my eyes when I hit the “publish” button.

    The thing is, by the time that picture was snapped, I had already lost a few pounds.  I’m estimating at my heaviest, I was probably 215 pounds.   I wouldn’t know– I avoided the scale, the mirror and the camera every chance I could.    The only exercise that I got around to doing was playing a weekly volleyball game in a league.  A local bar sponsored our team, so we were obligated to head over there after the game and hang out.   I filled up on appetizers, sometimes late at night.

    I grew up waterskiing and barefooting and I really missed those activities.  My niece convinced me to try water skiing again on July 4 in 2008.  I got up on two skis and kicked off one.   I went back and forth across the wake a few times and called it a day.  I was out of breath and had no strength to continue.  It was one very short ride on the water.   I was in a size 16 jeans and wearing 2x tops.  No, it wasn’t pretty.   You would think after seeing this photo on my niece’s Facebook page– that I would be motivated to lose weight.  I wasn’t.

    Ever hear the saying by Buddha:   “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”   Well, that’s pretty much what happened.  The teacher turned out to be Keith St. Onge, from the World Barefoot Center.  Keith went through a metamorphosis of his own several years ago.   He was packing on too many pounds as a professional athlete and wasn’t feeling healthy.   He became serious about his health, made some changes in his lifestyle and eating habits and went on to win two World Championships.    At the end of May, Keith sent me some eating guidelines to improve my health.  I was ready, finally ready, to make some lifestyle changes.

    “You have to cut out pop,” he told me.

    I loved my Coke and Pepsi.  I lived each day for the moment I could sip the soda.   Every time we went out to eat, I ordered soda.  And now it was time to kiss it goodbye.  My friend Sue had kicked the pop habit and she was trying to get me to kick it a year ago.   But now, I was ready.

    I wanted a lifestyle change, not a diet.  Keith’s guidelines fit right into that.  I made healthier choices, but I enjoyed the food.  Instead of boneless chicken wings, I went for grilled chicken on a salad when eating out.  Salmon with asparagus.   I went for more fruits and vegetables and less of the processed stuff.  I found ways to cut out white flour– but I have a weakness for Panera Bread’s sourdough rolls, so eliminating that completely felt like death.   So I saved it as a very rare treat.   And I got hooked on quinoa.  “Keen-wa”– the whole grain with funny name.   I introduced my book club to it one day and they liked it.  I brought in almond and coconut milk and the kids went crazy for the almond milk.

    I also had two other barefooters who provided support and encouragement, Joann O’Connor and Judy Myers.  Both of them had wonderful weight loss stories of their own.  I joined Donna Cutting’s weight loss group on Facebook, and it helped tremendously to be surrounded by others walking the same journey.

    It’s a work in progress– as I still eat emotionally and I deal with that all the time.  It’s a work in progress, I remind myself again and again– as I still have a ways to go to get healthy and lean.  In a weak moment this fall, I texted Keith after I had scarfed down two rolls at a fundraiser.   “Always bring healthy snacks with you for moments like that,” he said.  Then he shot me a modified Dave Ramsey quote:   “If you want to live like no one else, make decisions like no one else!”

    I put my fork down when the dessert came.

    I had two incredible highlights this year:  the day that I learned to go backwards on the water… and the day that I slipped on size eight jeans.   Thanks, Keith, for both of those highlights.

  • Getting Into a Wetsuit

    karen in wetsuit

    From:

    Your SENIOR Magazine:

    Overheard at the doctor’s office:  “I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor’s permission to join a fitness club and start exercising.  I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors.  I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the class was over.”

    This cracked me up!  Then I thought back to the second time that I went to the World Barefoot Center back in April.  I had to buy a wetsuit and I went into the pro shop to buy one.   Judy Myers took a women’s size 14 off the rack.  “Here, try this on,” she said.

    I looked at the wetsuit and shook my head. “I haven’t been in a size 14 since I had kids,” I told her.

    “Try it on,” she insisted.  “Wetsuits are always very tight when you try them on dry.  When you get in the water, they stretch out.”

    I tried on the wetsuit and couldn’t get it over my shoulders.  It went back on the rack.  “I’ll need a men’s size,” I said.

    Judy pulled off a men’s size medium.   I looked at it and shook my head again.  “That’s not going to fit.  I know my body and I can’t get in that one!”

    “You gotta try it on,” Judy said.  And hey, when Judy tells you to do something, you do it.  She’s a former gym teacher –and I was afraid she would make me drop down and give her ten pushups if I didn’t obey.  I dutifully stepped into the wetsuit and slipped one arm in.  I had to “bend, twist, gyrate and jump up and down” to get the other arm in.  Judy remained positive throughout the ordeal.  “We can zip this up!”   Keith St.Onge was standing in the corner, trying not to laugh.

    I looked at the half-donned wetsuit.  The zipper was a long way down and the two halves of the wetsuit were parked near my shoulders.  I didn’t see how it was possible to get the female parts of me into a too-small, men’s wetsuit.

    “This ain’t going to happen,” I told Judy.  “Let’s go up a size.”  She pulled a bigger size off the rack.

    “We can zip this up!  I promise you, once you get this in the water it will loosen up!”

    So there we were– Judy trying to zip up the wetsuit while I tried to minimize my upper chest.   The zipper only went up a few inches.  “Here, you zip it up while I pull the suit together,” Judy suggested.   We wrestled with the suit for a few more minutes, inching the zipper up a bit more.  Finally, out of desperation– or perhaps it was the eagerness to get on the water–Judy stuffed the puppies in while I managed to zip it up.

    “Um, I can’t breathe,” I said.

    When I look back at my year of getting back to barefooting again, I realize that the hardest part wasn’t learning to put my feet back on the water– the hardest part was getting into the wetsuit.

  • Barefooting with Karen Putz, by Judy Myers

    Judy Myers, my mentor and inspiration who got me back on the water, asked me if she could do a guest post for the blog. This post made me cry. Thank you, Judy. You’re awesome and you ROCK!
    Karen Putz first contacted me last spring when she saw a video of me barefoot waterskiing on MSNBC’s Fit To Boom series.She explained that she had barefoot waterskied years before and had taken a fall, which caused her to lose her hearing. This is not the usual result of a barefoot fall, but rather the result of a deaf gene that runs in her family and causes deafness from a hard hit.On her 44th birthday, she was feeling very down about the fact she had given up barefooting after becoming deaf and felt just maybe she could try it again.She told me that I was somewhat of an inspiration if I could barefoot at 67 then she certainly could try again.

    I convinced Karen to come down to the World Barefoot Center, in Winter Haven, Florida to ski with me and be instructed by Keith St. Onge, the current barefoot waterski World Champion at that time.She agreed and we arranged for her to come down in March.I must admit that Keith and I were a bit apprehensive about trying to teach a deaf woman how to barefoot.How would we communicate? What if she could not understand us?What if she fell and hurt herself what were we to do?

    Karen arrived, and what a positive, delightful person she was to work with.She made us feel completely at ease and “listened” well with her skill at lip reading.

    From this first moment, we developed a relationship that has turned into a great friendship. After skiing together with some other “older” barefooting gals, we decided to all head to the World Barefoot Center and hold a Women’s Week for “older” female barefooters.This past week we had fifteen women skiers—twelve of them were over the age of 40,and four of us over the age of 60.What fun we had!

    My purpose for asking Karen to let me write this for her blog was to tell you what Karen has taught me.

    She always holds me up as a mentor, but let me tell you, this fantastic woman is my mentor.She has taught me more about overcoming obstacles and facing life head on than anyone I know.Her ability to laugh at herself and make light of her deafness puts everyone around her at ease. She is straightforward and explains to us what we need to do to help her. She has taught me not only how to converse with others while looking at her so she can be included in the conversations (and trust me she does not miss much) but more than that, she has taught me that I was the “handicapped” one. In the begining I saw her as a person with a disability, rather than a person who can’t hear, but she can accomplish anything she puts her mind to. She is driven to succeed and she does.She has a great outlook on life and brings so much to those she comes in contact with.What an inspiration and role model she is.This is a lesson I can and have brought into my own life.

    What a remarkable woman, friend and barefooter!!

    Karen you are AWESOME and you ROCK.Thank you for all that you have given me!!

    Judy Myers, aka “Old Lady”
    67-year-old Barefooter

  • An Entire Week of Lipreading

    At the ZVRS booth on Saturday, the Z Team showcased a water ski video that had some clips of me barefoot water skiing in it.   One by one, customers began coming up to me and asking questions about barefooting and my trip to Florida for the Women’s Barefoot Week at the World Barefoot Center.  One of the questions that came up over and over was a question related to communication:  what was it like to be the only deaf person among fourteen gals for a whole week?  How did we communicate?

    Quite simply, I lipread my way through the week.  One hundred percent of my understanding of speech comes from lipreading.  I can’t understand anything that is spoken to me without some kind of visual input– whether via sign, written English or lipreading.  I can handle most one-one-conversations with relative ease, that is, most of the time.  There are some folks that I have a tough time lipreading and it requires an adjustment on their part for a conversation to take place.   There are probably times when I think I’ve lipread correctly, but later discover that my information processing was totally off.

    Group conversations are a literal nightmare at times.  As soon as I finish lipreading the first person and then ping-pong my eyes to the next person, by then a third person has already chimed in.   Lipreading becomes useless at that point.  The only way to handle group conversations is for folks to take turns talking and making eye contact with me before speaking or to have someone summarize a conversation.  Fortunately for me, the group did both by the second day.   Judy Myers and Joann O’Connor became my interpreters for the week.  We got to the point where I’d just have to look at them and they’d summarize what was going on or the conversations that I missed. I still missed out on huge chunks of conversations, but that’s the nature of being deaf among a group.   By the end of each day, I knew when my exhausted mind had enough– the lips would move but nothing was making sense.  It was time to call it a night at that point.

    Getting instruction from Keith St. Onge was a piece of cake, as I could lipread him easily.  In some cases, I had an advantage, as I could lipread him on the water over the roar of the boat.  He definitely didn’t have to shout to communicate while I was barefooting.   When it came time to instruct me on the basics of backward barefooting, Keith called me up to the hull of the boat and had me lie down on my stomach.  Judy sat in front of me and repeated everything Keith said as he positioned my feet through the steps.  This instruction method worked well, as I was barefooting backwards by the third day.

    What really touched my heart was watching everyone in the boat signing “awesome” and exploding in deaf applause after my first backward run– that’s a sight that will forever be etched in my mind.

  • Women’s Barefoot Week, Day 5 and 6

    Women’s Barefoot Week at the World Barefoot Center flew by way too fast.  Day Five dawned cloudy and a bit on the cool side in the morning.  We drew names out of a cup and this time, I joined David Small’s boat.  “It’ll be good for you to work with Dave, he’ll teach you in a different way,” Keith St. Onge said.   It was a blast with Dave– I managed to lipread him well despite his British accent.   He started me off with some one foots and then I wanted to try the back deep start without shoes.  No luck getting up, unless you count the two seconds my chest lifted off the water and I keeled over backward:

    “Turn your toes down at that point,” David explained.  I tried it a couple more times and then switched to shoes. I managed to get up on shoes and have a nice long backward ride and David cleaned up my form.

    By noon, it started to rain so we headed into the garage for a foot painting project.  The original plan was to stamp our feet on a square piece of canvas, but one of the gals is an artist and she cut out a foot.  It turned out amazing!  Even the dogs had their paws stamped too!

    We headed back out for an afternoon set where I worked on one foots again and the back deep without shoes.  Joann O’Connor and I ended the afternoon with some doubles on the boom, which brought back memories of our three days in Wisconsin this summer.

    By the end of the last set, I was p.o.o.p.e.d.   We headed back to the house and sat in the hot tub to nurse our aching muscles.  We kicked back with a glass of wine, courtesy of Barefoot Wines. Even when I was a teen, I don’t think I ever did so much barefooting!  Between the wine and the Motrin that Judy Myers passed out (no, we didn’t combine those!), we felt pretty good!

    We cleaned up and headed out to dinner at Longhorn where we all dug into the food with relish!  Vibram Five Fingers sponsored a pair of barefoot shoes for the “Most Improved Barefooter”, which was given to Joann for all of her hard work that week.   I received a cool World Barefoot Center t-shirt signed by everyone for accomplishing some new skills that week.

    Friday was the final morning for some of us and we woke up to some very cold weather.  A photographer and writer from Waterski magazine came out to do a photo shoot and story.  The photo shoot was an interesting challenge: not only was it cold and windy, but the water was rough.  The plan was to run two boats side by side with all of us barefooting off two booms.   During the first take, we all managed to get out on the booms, but one by one, we began dropping like flies as our feet skipped over the rough water.  The photographer wasn’t able to get a good shot.  On the second take, we nailed it.  David and Keith skillfully steered the boat close enough so that it looked like we had one long boom and the gals barefooting in a row.  Stay tuned to the March issue of Waterski magazine to see what it looks like.

    All too soon, it was time to head to say goodbye and head to the airport.  The first annual Women’s Barefoot Week flew by way too fast.  I could have stayed another week.  At least there’s next year to look forward to!

    To see photos of all the gals from Women’s Week, head to my Facebook page:  Karen Putz’s Facebook Page

  • Women’s Barefoot Week at the World Barefoot Center

    Way back in March, when I first met Judy Myers, she casually mentioned that she was going to organize a Women’s Barefoot Week at the World Barefoot Center this fall.  “We never do anything for the ladies in barefooting, so we’re going to have a whole week devoted to us!” she said.

    Women’s Barefoot Week is set for November 1-6 and coming up quick!  I still haven’t found my ugly hat for the Ugly Hat contest but I know that Joann O’Connor has been madly scouring the flea markets and intends to win.

    I’m looking forward to seeing Judy and Joann again and meeting lots of new gals from all over the U.S.  Back when I was a teen, I only had the guys to barefoot with on Christie Lake (not that it was a bad thing!) but there’s something about having another gal role model that just does wonders for the soul!

    Speaking of guys, we’re going to teach Swampy, Keith St. Onge and David Small how to tap into their female sides all week. They’ll learn to embrace pink nail polish and some lovely women’s wear.  Yes, we’ll be sure to get photos.

    It won’t just be a week of fluff, we’ll be out on the water working on deep starts, tumble turns, toe holds, backwards– the goal is for every gal to learn something new and have a blast on the water.  My goal is to conquer the darn long-line deep start beast that I battled all summer.   My other goal is to learn to barefoot with my heels leading the way– that is… if the Master (KSO) determines that I’m ready for it.  Judy and Joann, my cheerleading team, have over-ridden KSO’s expertise and have signed me up for some backwards barefooting–starting off on shoes, of course.

    The World Barefoot Center is discounting their pro shop items just for the ladies that week.  After a day of skiing, we’ll be kicking back with some Barefoot Wine and fun activities.  At the end of the week, the gal who is the “Most Improved Barefooter” gets to go home with a pair of Vibram Five Fingers Barefoot Shoes. A big thank you to our sponsors!

    We have a few spots left for Women’s Barefoot Week so if you want to join us, come on out!  It can be for a day or two or the entire week.  Call the World Barefoot Center at 863-877-0039 to reserve your spot on the boat.  After all, it will be the only time of the year that Swampy gives out foot massages.

  • Writing for the Chicago Tribune TribLocal

    The email came out of the blue.  It was titled, “DeafMom Tweets.”  It was from Amy Alderman, a staff reporter and producer from the Chicago Tribune TribLocal.

    “Dear Karen,” she wrote. “I just wanted to write to say I really enjoy your tweets. By any chance, are you based in the Chicago suburbs? I work as a reporter and producer for the Chicago Tribune’s TribLocal online and print news, and I’m looking for new bloggers for our sites.”

    Would I be interested?

    I love when new opportunities like that pop up.  So I said yes.  I was a little scared to take on more work at a time when I was completely overwhelmed, but writing for the Chicago Tribune TribLocal has been fun.  I have been writing online and in print for various publications for years, but there’s something about being able to pick up the newspaper on a Thursday morning and see an article in there that I’ve written–well, that just puts a smile on my face.

    This week, I wrote about how Facebook and Twitter have brought me many wonderful opportunities to meet people online and face-to-face.  I had a blast barefooting with Dan Tanis and Jeff Hoekstra on Cedar Lake:

    Here are the three articles printed so far:

    Karen Putz Debuts on TribLocal

    Barefoot Water Skiing with a Senior Citizen

    Adventures with Facebook and Twitter

    More to come!