He’s 72, wears hearing aids, has a smile to light up the back of the moon, and his blue eyes can tear up with emotion and empathy in an instant.
With his fit physique and full head of hair, he sent a reported 4 million-plus women aged 60 and up, but also younger, into a collective swoon when he first appeared on ABC’s “The Golden Bachelor” on Sept. 28.
A spinoff of the ubiquitous TV series featuring young hot chicks and hunky bachelors, the new show has expanded the genre’s horizons by coming up with Gerry (pronounced Gary) Turner, a widower looking for love, and 22 women, aged 60 to 72, who are using their charm, wits and wiles to win his affection.
The show has caught on like pickleball in a retirement community. Older adults and senior centers across the country have been hosting weekly “Golden Bachelor” watch parties, and Laguna Woods is no exception.
Members of the Boomers Club, all women, of course, have been gathering for viewing parties at each other’s homes since the show’s inception. Last Thursday, a dozen women ensconced themselves with pizza and adult beverages in a dining room at the 19 Restaurant and, with giggles, guffaws, moans and groans, watched episode 4, which featured – surprise – a pickleball tournament.
Turner, apparently “passionate” about pickleball, is a retired restaurateur from Indiana, a father and grandfather, who lost his wife in 2017. Watching him get teary-eyed at her mention, one figures he still mourns her, but he’s seemingly game to take another look at love and commitment.
Boomer Monica Berg called Turner an interesting fellow but a bit naive.
“I don’t think many men would be as emotional on TV,” she said. “Some of the ladies are clearly playing him. He is a good ol’ boy from the Midwest, and some of the ladies there are big-city girls schooled in how to snag a man.”
Susan Schneider, an organizer of last week’s party and a fan of the “Bachelor” series, respectfully…
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