Aarp's real people model contest winners, aging beautifully...

I had been a graphic designer in New York, and when I turned 50, I began painting seriously, exploring new techniques and media and always returning to the lush beauty of Hawaii. My work is

represented by a local gallery. I also teach yoga and exercise with friends every morning. Grieving takes time, and sometimes you need to give yourself over to it. Because when you come out

the other side, it can be beautiful. If you look for joy, you find it. I am grateful every day for what I have, and grateful that I have the power to create a new life for myself. Soon

I'll begin training to be a life coach, and I'd like to specialize in helping others deal with grief and also in overcoming cancer. People have this idea that life coaching is

about telling people what to do. It's the opposite. It's about listening — because, really, everyone does know what's best for them. It's the process of figuring it out,

and doing it, that's valuable. And of course I want to find my next relationship — just someone who loves to travel, is warm, kind, someone intellectually interesting whom I can have

great conversations with — and maybe someone a bit younger than me. I admit, I will be asking about his heart history. Our second date may be at the cardiologist's! 60+ WINNER J. PAT

BRANCH, 65 "Men who've been in combat and lived — they've been given a second chance. Me, I've been given more than a dozen chances," says J. Pat Branch. Ari

Michelson HOME: Kimberly, Idaho LIFELINE: My great God; my wife, Margo; and family WORDS TO LIVE BY: I can't do everything for everybody all the time, but I can do something for

somebody some of the time. In the 17 months I served in Vietnam, I earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. I earned three Purple Hearts. And people say, "Man, you're a hero."

No, what I was was somebody else's target practice. Frequently I wondered: Why did I come home alive when so many guys I knew didn't? Over the next four decades I earned a college

degree and gave myself over to veterans' advocacy, assisting veterans and their families in receiving health and financial benefits. I've been fortunate to be able to give my time

to the food bank, homeless shelters, church activities, and riding programs for the disabled. When I was younger I rodeoed — rode bulls and broncos and steer-wrestled. I never won a million

dollars in rodeo. But I had a million dollars' worth of fun and made $10 million worth of friends. Growing up in cowboy culture, you kinda know who's real and who isn't. For

years I've been doing the ranch and rodeo ministry — I go to rodeos and preach a chapel service. I've seen myself as a servant for much of my life — a servant to God, to the

community — but much of my work came after I turned 50, too. When I was 58, I was fortunate enough to receive a Jefferson Award for Public Service in Washington, D.C. I try to always keep in

mind a scene from my favorite movie, _Saving Private Ryan_. Captain John Miller, played by Tom Hanks, has been severely wounded and is dying. He tells Matt Damon, who plays Private Ryan, to

do something good with his life. "Earn this," he says. Men who've been in combat and lived — they've been given a second chance. Me, I've been given more than a

dozen chances. Getting older is learning not to waste what you've been given. You do something. You always do something. 70+ WINNER LINDA WILSON, 72 "What a person needs becomes so

much clearer a little later in life," says Linda Wilson. Ari Michelson HOME: Wilmington, N.C. LIFELINE: My yellow Lab. She's a rescue, and she rescued me, basically. WORDS TO LIVE

BY: Never, ever stop learning. I lived a cosseted life, really, until I got divorced in my mid-40s. And then, here are the things that happened to me after 50. I got downsized at work,

because my skill — teaching people how to operate a particular phone system — was no longer necessary. I had serious back problems. I had a heart attack, which necessitated a stent. Then I

needed another stent. Then I needed two new knees. These were times of great stress. I decided that it's never too late for a new start — and I also wanted to prove to my family that I

was far more capable than they thought. I grew up in the kind of family that thought a college degree denoted intelligence. But I knew what I was capable of. I moved to a beach community in

North Carolina, where I knew no one. I started a business providing caregivers to people after serious surgery — I knew from personal experience how comforting it could be to stay in your

home rather than go to a rehab center — and the business was very successful. It was a stressful business, though, so I sold it five years later, at a profit, and started a pet-sitting

service, which allows me to make good use of my love for animals. I feel in many ways that I'm really, really living for the first time. I've got family nearby and I love to dance

and kayak. I'm constantly looking to learn new things. And now I do want someone in my life. What a person needs becomes so much clearer a little later in life. I want to find someone

who loves nature, who has a good heart. I don't want to date just to be dating. If I don't find anyone, that's perfectly OK. If I do, I want it to be my last love. 70+ WINNER

ALFREDO MARTINEZ, 72 "I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up," says Alfredo Martinez. Ari Michelson HOME: Los Angeles LIFELINE: Painting WORDS TO LIVE BY: It

doesn't get any better than this. When I was young, everything was about getting and maintaining a family. I grew up in South Central L.A., was drafted out of high school. Then I came

back, became a hairdresser—in the days of _Shampoo_ that was cool — got married to a wonderful woman, had two daughters.