Many people have asked me when the final decisions will be made. The answer is after I have viewed all of the videotapes. Please remember the submission deadline is September 16, 2005. Thus, the decisions will be sometime after September 16. My best guesstimate at this time is by the end of October I will have met what I hope to be the best matches, and then like any relationship, we'll see!!! Departure, starting in South America, remains in November. I typically am not so vague, but as I have pointed out in previous Newsletters, this is all new to me and the process will unfold as events occur. In a sense, this reminds me of the documentary feature film I made with my son Chris, Pop&Me. When we set out on our 190 day Around The World Trip in 1996, which took us to 28 countries on 5 continents, we knew that we were going to make a film about fathers and sons around the world. However it turned out that the main theme of the film ended being about our relationship! The point is, with Senior Bachelor, this is uncharted territory and I do not have a clear idea of what the results will be-or not be. On the one hand, this is deliciously exciting. On the other hand, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and wonder if I'm nuts!! Senior Bachelor will evolve. How, remains to be seen. For now, I am gathering information from interested candidates, and trying to be as fair as possible, and to "speak" to a very large list of women through the Newsletters. Incidentally, over 95% of the women who read the Newsletters have not applied for the Journey, but they are very interested in, well, how the heck is this thing going to turn out?? I can only say to stay tuned.

Regarding Pop&Me, the film is available in many video stores and at various places like Blockbuster, Amazon.com, and Netflix just to name three. It is in VHS or DVD. I'm not "shilling" for you to rent or buy it as we sold the film to MGM and with "studio accounting" they keep all of the money. For more information on Pop&Me please visit www .chrisroe.net/popandme.html . I'm happy to say the film was a Semi-Finalist for an Oscar in 2000, the year it was released on the big screen.

A lady in Georgia wrote "Our age group is rich with emotions because we have all lived life to some degree or another. We have all loved, we have all lost, and we all are searching, not necessarily for another person, but for the peace that comes with an acceptance." Another lady wrote that Van Gogh said "What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything." A man from Ireland wrote and in the Subject bar it said, "Stay Away From My Woman." It turns out (according to him, and I am more than a little suspicious), that his young girlfriend became infatuated with me after seeing the Oprah segment and it is messing up his relationship. He wanted me to write to her and tell her she had no chance. A comment from another reader. " It must be hard for you to see how curious we ladies can be. I think you are learning that us gals communicate by how we feel rather than what we think. I have learned to ask a man 'what do you think?' rather than 'what do you feel?'" Here I am, 64 years old, and I still have so much to learn about the opposite sex. (The picture to the right is my one year old granddaughter, Davis.)

OK, Senior Bachelor question answering time, which I liken to a root canal without Novocaine, but here goes. "Richard, are you funny, playful, and, more importantly, do you like to cuddle?" Yes, yes, and yes. "Can you cook?" I make a mean stir fry and great French toast. I am, for the most part, a very healthy eater. I will cheat occasionally, as I love ice cream, and I am a cookie monster. "Do you pick up after yourself?" Yes, I am neat, not fanatical, but neat. "What are you most comfortable in, dress clothes or casual?" Most definitely, casual. I live directly on the beach in Southern California where the weather is beautiful and 70 degrees almost every single day. 95% of the time I am in shorts, t-shirts and barefoot. But I don't mind, every now and then, getting all gussied up. A reader in Florida writes "Dance like no one is watching." Another reader from Florida says "I've been through adversity but I think that life is meant to be lived and the most important thing is kindness. I want someone in my life that is loving, can cherish and be cherished." Amen.

Due to the tremendous volume of e-mails and videotapes and letters that pour in daily (and I am VERY thankful) I simply cannot respond to every one. The new blog http://seniorb achelor.com/blog/ offers a great way to share your story. I read the blogs every day- so this way you can communicate your thoughts to me. I, in turn, can communicate my thoughts to you via the Newsletters. As of today, I am still entertaining the idea of traveling around the country to meet women who have sent in tapes. If this should occur, I am thinking of Los Angeles in Mid-July, Chicago and Philadelphia in August, and New York City and Atlanta in early September, and maybe some other cities. I will be set up in a conference room of a downtown hotel and will be able to have face-to-face meetings. Kind of a Senior Speed Dating if you will.

Speaking of Seniors, some people object to the word, thinking it implies they are old geezers. I'm 64 and I can assure you I don't think of myself this way. At one time, yes, being a Senior was associated with being old, but no longer. Let's keep in mind that approximately one-third of the United States population, which is about 100 million people out of 300 million people, are 50+. We are a VERY, VERY, VERY important group. HOWEVER, many of us, including me, have felt marginalized in many ways being 40+ and especially 50+. Marginalized in the sense that we are made to feel less important. That somehow our vote isn't as important as it was when we were younger. Look at today's television shows and the movies. Over and over you hear the "coveted demographic" is 18-49. By definition then, if you are 50+ you are "not coveted." Well not this guy, and you are going to hear a lot more about issues important to all people in our age group in future Newsletters. In fact, a whole lot more. Again, stay tuned.

Below on the left, highlighted in blue you will see- Forward email. Simply click on those words, and you will see how easy it is to forward this Newsletter. If you sign up some friends, email me at Richard@SeniorBachelor.com and I'll be sure to thank you.

I remain respectfully yours,

Richard Roe, The Senior Bachelor

Please remember that when you submit tapes or any other materials, you agree that they may be used in any manner or media worldwide as determined solely by me, including, but not limited to a future episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show and its promotion.

Email: richard@seniorbachelor.com

Web: http://www.seniorbachelor.com