The Age of Being Real

Stories about people of any age
who have discovered their unique path in life

Episodes

Episode 5: Nashville barber prioritizes kindness and joy during 37 years in business

The Nashville cottage that houses the Family Barber Shop is constantly buzzing as 63-year-old Patty Stelmaszak adds the finishing touches for a continuous stream of customers. The barber’s cheerful energy keeps her stepping on and off a wooden wine crate she brought from her first shop in San Diego’s Ocean Beach. Her business model is simple. Cash only. Affordable, quality haircuts delivered with lively conversation and compassion.Word around Nashville is that she’s especially welcoming to those who may be undergoing treatment at nearby Vanderbilt University Medical Center or other area hospitals. She's been know to plug in her clippers outside for customers in a wheelchair. She has a guiding ideal on what she offers college students, young professionals and older adults when they arrive for a haircut: “I want this to be the best 15 minutes of their day.”

Episode 4: Actor persists through decades from Spider-Man to indie films

Jerry Colpitts began acting as a child when he and his sister created skits in the kitchen with singing, dancing and mime. When the family moved to a new town their mother entered them in a talent contest - and they won. The thrill of the stage created a lifelong love of acting in the young boy. As Colpitts nears his 70th birthday, he’s finding continuing work and joy as an extra, or sometimes larger roles, in independent films. These current roles come after 22 years as Spider-Man, from 1979 to 2001, making personal appearances around the globe as the superhero for Marvel Comics. Like anyone who has the good fortune to live through many decades, Colpitts has thrived in good times and survived dark times. Does he feel like he was “destined” to be an actor? “I do have a good deal of faith and courage and trust that a Higher Power is looking out for me. Angels have been flying beside me most of my life, I guess.”

Episode 3: Kentucky dulcimer artist adds digital school to festivals of traditional music

Nancy Barker took piano lessons as young girl and says, "I absolutely hated it. But I could sing." She discovered her path in music when a high school boyfriend gave her a guitar and a dulcimer as birthday presents. She was Kentucky's first artist-in-residence hired by a public school system, Barker has been an adjunct professor, without a college degree, because she says, "they don't make degrees in what I do." She describes what she taught as "music traditions of Kentucky." She's been the guiding force for Louisville Dulcimer Society, Kentucky Music Weekend and Kentucky Music Week, which marks its 39th year in June 2024. Now 78-year-old Barker has launched a new project with her daughter, Jaeni Barker, the online Kentucky Music Institute. Nancy and Jaeni Barker are dedicated to keeping Kentucky's traditional music alive.

Episode 2: Quaker minister guides tiny house villages for homeless young adults

Sally Hindman was expected to be a debutante. She nixed that idea in her junior year of high school. She told her mother she didn’t want to be presented to society. Sixty-six-year-old Hindman grew up Methodist but found her calling as a Quaker minister with a passion for using art as a vehicle for social justice. She spearheaded creation of the nation’s first tiny house village for young adults ages 18-to-24 in Oakland, California. Youth Spirit Artworks Tiny House Empowerment Village opened in 2021 and provides two years of stability and job training for 22 young people from Oakland and Berkeley. The second community for homeless young adults, The Richmond Tiny House Village, Farm and Garden, will provide housing and offer culinary training for residents. It's expected to welcome its first residents in December 2024.

Episode 1: The Art and Heart of a Clown

It's bringing joy day-by-day that keeps Nick Wilkins thriving as a professional clown 51 years into living his dream. The 67-year-old entertainer, balloon artist and entrepreneur based in Bowling Green, Kentucky got his early stage experience in the family magic show. After college he trained and worked at Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus in Florida. Returning to Kentucky, he grew his business by entertaining children, adults and corporate clients as a clown and through his Balloon-A-Gram company. Sprinkling humor at every opportunity is just how lives. "I'm definitely a jovial individual," he says. "In this world today there's so much negativity, I just want to give 'em a chance to stop their brain for enough time to just laugh and smile." He plans to keep doing that because being a clown is not a job he can retire from. "It's more than a job. It's a passion. I mean, clowning is right here," he says, putting his hand on his chest, ". . . from your heart."

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