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Promoting Romance, Adventure and Recognition for People of All Ages! | ![]() |
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Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
In last week's Newsletter I wrote that the Senior
Bachelor Search and Journey is reaching a
conclusion, and that I would write a re-cap of the
events over the last 2 1/ 2 years in 3 Parts. If you
missed last week's Newsletter, titled, "Prologue,"
please look below.
Before I launch into the explanation fo the original
Senior Bachelor idea, I wanted to
respond to many messages sent to me after the last
Newsletter. The new, parallel mission, that was born
from my original mission, which is......Promoting
Romance and Adventure for People 45 and Over
(really 50 and over), ........will continue for as long as
you, the followers of this Search and Journey, want me
to, and if I am healthy and continue to have the
motivation and desire to carry on. Cruises, my tours of
Italy, parties, etc. I hope will continue unabated.
THE GENESIS OF SENIOR
BACHELOR: The idea of finding a life partner
in,
shall I say, a rather unconventional manner, originated
about 10 years ago. I had read an article about a
farmer who had lost his wife, and he planted a sign in
his front yard that read..."Need wife, must drive tractor."
I thought...now that was a unique, creative idea!
In 1996 my then 29 year old son, Chris, and I
embarked on a 7 month journey around the world, to
27 countries on 5 continents. This resulted in a
feature length documentary film titled Pop & Me, which
after winning 6 film Festivals, was purchased by MGM
and shown in movie theaters across the United
States. In 2000, Pop & Me was a Semi-Finalist for an
Academy Award as Best Feature Length Documentary
Film, and released on DVD on 5 continents in 3
languages. A lot of publicity ensued, highlighted by an
appearance on The Oprah Winfrey show, and a
feature article in People Magazine.
You may be wondering....What does Pop & Me have to
do with Senior Bachelor?? As it turns out,
EVERYTHING!! Please read on.
I moved to the Cinque Terre area of Italy for a year,
2001, and during my time in this incredible romantic
country, I realized that I was finally ready to be in a
healthy, loving, committed relationship. But how would
I find "her?" That's when the farmer's idea hit me!!! I,
too, would try to use a creative was to find my
soulmate. I didn't want a woman to drive a tractor,
rather I hoped to find a woman who would be able to
travel anywhere in the world on a moments notice,
and as previously mentioned, was fit and fun.
I really felt I had made a great connection, even a
bond, with Oprah after appearing on her show in
2000. After our 18 minute appearance with Oprah was
completed, she, Chris and I, went to a nearby room,
and Oprah put her head on my left shoulder and
cried....for a good three minutes. And then Oprah said
something to me that was particularly meaningful and
beautiful. I felt Oprah meant this to be a private
sharing of her thoughts and I will respect that.
Every now and then The Oprah Winfrey Show has a
show called "Your Wildest Dream Come True." My son
Chris taped a message from me to Oprah, via her
Producers, which started out with me saying "Oprah I
need help." I said that conventional means of finding a
woman to spend the rest of my life with were not
working, and my Wildest Dream was to find a woman
who was at least Fifty, Fit, Fun and Free. Free in the
sense that "she" could travel anywhere in the world at
a moments notice. I said that if Oprah would have me
back on her show, that I would offer a woman fitting
the description above, an all expense paid trip around
the world, lasting around 6 months. The "catch"
was.....that she had to go with me!! I would call
this "The Senior Bachelor's Search For Romance &
Adventure."
In January 2005, I received a message to be in
Chicago and that Oprah would help me launch my
search. I have to tell you I was really surprised, and
very grateful, but also a little nervous. Be careful what
you wish for, and all that!!
One cannot underestimate the power and the reach of
Oprah Winfrey. The Show is seen in over 100
countries and has been the # 1 show in the United
States something like 20 years in a row. The segment
was only 6 minutes long, and even as the segment
was being broadcast, people were flocking to
www.seniorbachelor.com. This was the first day that
the site was up, and one computer crashed (as the
Oprah producers had warned me) and because the
Producers told me to have a huge backup computer,
everything spilled over into there. Within 24 hours
some 3 million (yes, million) unique visitors had come
to the site!! Yikes
E-mails poured in, literally tens of thousands of
women asking for more information. I noticed one
prominent trend; the women said that due to family or
work obligations they could not get away for 6 months.
I sent responses asking if 6 months was too long,
what was the right amount of time? Overwhelmingly,
the reply was 1 month. Hmm...I wondered, instead of
1 woman for 6 months, how about 6 women, for 1
month at a time as I circled the world!! (Ha ha. I know
the men reading this will get a kick out of this kind of
creative thinking!!!)
Interested women could send in a 3 minute videotape
saying why she thought we would be good traveling
partners, and possibly partners for life, and a brief
biography and 2 recent photographs. In the interest of
fair play, similar information about me was available
on the website and people could also rent Pop & Me
and find out a lot about my background.
More publicity ensued and at one time I had over
25,000 backed up e-mails. I answer each and every e-
mail sent to me and I was "working" (ha ha again) 14
hours a day answering e-mail and phone messages.
I did not think things could be more crazy, but things
were just getting started, as it was to turn out!!!
In June 2005, 2 months after the Oprah appearance,
People Magazine called me about a photo shoot for
their annual bachelor choices. This year, 2005, they
were choosing "The Fifty Hottest Bachelors." I was
convinced this was a prank call, probably set up by
one of my sons, who love to tease me. However it was
plausible as in 2000 People ran a feature article about
Pop & Me. I showed up at the airport at the time
mentioned and 9 people were there, and People
Magazine had rented a 35 million dollar jet for the
shoot...and I was the only one there. OMG, it was true!!
How could anyone believe anybody my age was "hot."
At the end of April, there it was, and on the cover, part
of the 50, were Brad, Tom and Matthew (as in Pitt,
Cruise, and McConaghy). Now my 3 boys went really
nuts, to them it was really absurd that their "Pop" was
in any way hot and in that company. Interest spiked
again. In August of the same year, the Oprah show
was re-run and more people than before visited the
website. Chris is a graphic designer and he photo-
shopped those losers, Brad, Tom and Matthew, off of
the cover and put me there!! More ha ha's.
Now I needed help. Joe Franklin was a local friend of
mine from Manhattan Beach and a computer whiz,
and he also met his wife using an on-line dating
service. Joe would help me with everything. I also
wanted to have a video of this whole endeavor, and a
young Italian photographer named Umberto Zappa,
whom I originally met when he was 10 years old in
1985 and he was a camper at Camp Tecumseh (a
boys sports camp in New Hampshire where I was the
Director for 12 years) was now a skilled professional
photographer. Umberto could speak 5 languages
fluently, and was not only a great guy, but an avid
traveler. Perfect. I would ask Umberto to come to
Manhattan Beach and film everything. In the back of
my mind, I thought....who knows......Chris and I never
believed the results of Pop & Me would ever happen,
why not film this as well, it would be fun.
Now....how to meet some of these ladies?? I sent out
a Newsletter and said that if any interested women
would like for us to meet, to come to Manhattan
Beach. Over 200 brave women came from all over,
and for 3 days we had a blast. We all stayed in a lovely
hotel, The Ayres Hotel. I quickly noticed that the ladies
had some interest in meeting me, but they were
having more fun meeting the other women!! We would
stay up until 3 in the morning all talking about our life
experiences. It was then that I realized this whole
Senior Bachelor endeavor was way WAY bigger than I
had ever planned or imagined. There are so many
single men and women 50+, and after raising a
family, these wonderful women were ready to see the
world. To be adventurous. Over and over I heard "Now
it's my turn to have fun. I have earned that right and I'm
going for it!!!
Richard "drops in" at the Manhattan Beach Pier
Mingling and Meeting the first evening
Roasting Richard
Many women on the East Coast and Midwest also
wanted to have a party, so I arranged for a big party at
The Palmer House in Chicago. I decided to have a
theme....a crazy hat party, and also a cruise around
Chicago in the evening. A DJ was hired and the
ballroom was rocking!! There were hardly any other
men there, which was a shame, but nevertheless, the
ladies danced and generally had a ball. And more
friendships were being born.
On our way to the Cruise at the Navy Pier
Lovely Ladies on the steps at the magnificent
Palmer House
Soon to be great and lasting friends!
Well, you HAD to be there!
This concludes Part 1. The next Newsletter will
discuss the 2,200 courageous women who sent in
their information, and will re-cap all of the events in
the finding of the 22 Fabulous Finalists, and then the
final 6 selections (not only by me, but the ladies as
well- this was a 50-50 situation), and the start of the
Journey in the Amazon Jungle in Brazil.
I hope you are enjoying this re-telling of the events. If
you have any questions or comments, please feel free
to contact me at richard@seniorbachelor.com.
Ciao from Italy, Richard Roe
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
First, let me thank the tens of thousands of people
who have diligently followed my search for a life
partner. Believe it or not, there have been more than
six million unique visitors to
the Senior
Bachelor website, mostly from a six minute
appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, and an
assist from an article in People Magazine. Extra
thanks go to the 2,200 courageous women who sent
in videotapes and biographies, and to the ladies that
attended the parties and/ or cruises. And extra extra
thanks go to the 22 Fabulous Finalists who visited me
in Manhattan Beach in October, 2005 for four days.
And extra extra extra thanks go to the five women who
were willing to take a chance and travel around the
world with me!!!
The old expressions "All good things must come to an
end" and "One door closes and another opens" both
apply to the current situation. My mission to find a
woman to spend the rest of my life with, is reaching a
conclusion. As of this writing, the final conclusion
is
still unknown but I am hopeful. I specifically refer to
Lori's recent visit with me in Italy. The outcome of that
visit is a "work in progress" that I hope I will have more
to report on in the coming weeks and months.
I have the highest regard for Vicki, Gael, Lori, Cindee
and Vija, the five ultimate Fabulous Finalists. I had
either traveled with, or had extensive communication
with four of these wonderful ladies, but not Lori, until a
few weeks ago.
My Search has ended as I hope that Lori is the
woman I have been seeking, and I hope she will feel
the same about me. If not, I think I will become a
confirmed bachelor!!! I will let you
know both my story and Lori's (told by her) at the
appropriate time.
The comment "One door closes and another opens"
refers to the fact that there has been an equally
powerful
mission that was born from my Search. And that
is...To Promote Romance & Adventure for People 45
and Over (really 50 and over). Readers of the
Newsletters know that I have organized cruises,
parties, trips to Italy, and encouraged people to get out
and try to find a partner!!! Thus far, there have been
five
marriages, several engagements, many, many
dates and countless new friendships formed. We got
some help with the marriages, engagements and
dates from Perfectmatch.com. However, from the
thousands of letters I have received, the Senior
Bachelor experience seems to have inspired so many
to get out and change their lives for the better.
This makes me feel really great!!
Thus this Newsletter is...The Prologue. Over
the
coming weeks I will write a complete re-cap of the
Senior Bachelor Search for Romance & Adventure. It's
a long story and will be related in 3 parts.
Part 1 will go over the Genesis of the idea and
the
launching of Senior Bachelor by Oprah and People
Magazine.
Part 2 will relate the parties and the meetings
and
how it came down to five lovely ladies.
Part 3 will
discuss the present and the future - events since
Lori's visit, what has changed, and what I am hoping
for. As written earlier,
no one knows how the final chapter will be
written. So......STAY TUNED!!!
Ciao,
Richard
Warmest regards, Richard Roe Senior Bachelor (To forward this email to a friend, click here.)
Some computers have a problem opening the photos from the Senior Bachelor Newsletter. If so, wait a few days and go to www.seniorbachelor.com and click on the most recent Newsletter and you'll probably be able to see them there.
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