The Body That Stands Tall Is The Real Beauty

The following was written about me by a Wellness Educator, Steven Behr, Sr. from Washington State. He is nominating me for an award. It is nice and quite wonderful for me at this senior age to be thought of like this. I am not showing it here to brag; I am presenting it to exhibit and demonstrate that we seniors or as he calls us, active adults, can still accomplish activities at our advanced age that can instill inspiration to others to attain outstanding achievements and fulfill our lives every day. It goes as follows: I offer this recommendation for your consideration in support of Elita Sohmer Clayman, born June 21, 1934 whose profession is a Journalist / Writer. Five years ago, I was attracted to an article written in "Amateur Dancers Magazine" that stimulated me to find out a little more about the author. The article discussed the benefits of Ballroom Dancing in terms of movement, balance, posture and the enjoyment gained for all ages. Health-care reform was a big topic then and has continued to be hotly discussed and debated. As a result of the recent ruling by the US Supreme Court, it will be a major political topic leading to the November elections. Unfortunately, it only deals with treatment and not self-responsibility for preventive alternatives. Since 1990, Elita has been writing in magazines and on-line encouraging everyone to experience the beauty of the dance and about its impact on one’s personal wellness. She has promoted movement self-responsibility and is a huge proponent of the importance of the mind / body connection. As the senior page editor of the Amateur Dancers Magazine for 17 years her bimonthly articles constantly reminded seniors that it is never too late to start dancing; and her contributions to the Rene Ballroom Dance Site shared this message to thousands of readers in Montgomery, Alabama. Locally she has written 215 articles for the HuntValley-Cockeysville.Patch.com for residents all over Maryland that describe her personal challenges, personal successes and her wonderful belief in the beauty of the dance. She has been supported for 52 years by her husband Jerome Harris Clayman, children Sharon Clayman Goldner, Jeffrey Alan Clayman, in law children Richard H. Goldner and Lan Tran Clayman and her beloved grandchildren Brandon Goldner, Brock Goldner, Ethan Clayman and Ava Clayman. Elita's life experiences, family and her belief in the movement of the dance have encouraged, inspired and instilled many of her readers to take responsibility for their health in a venue that supports physical, mental and social health in addition to, it's great FUN! She is a Maryland resident who is a great mentor for not only the state of Maryland but all over the USA. I enthusiastically endorse Elita's nomination for this special recognition! Steven Behr Wellness Educator (253) 686-9797 Steilacoom, Washington 98388 I am not expecting to win an award; however, it is nice to be nominated. Anticipation is always almost as great at winning. I must say I am a winner anyway, because I have had the opportunity to express my views, thoughts and ideas to various communities throughout the United States. I have been rewarded with hundreds of new friends who have read my articles on ballroom dance, first in the Amateur Dancers publication for over seventeen years. When the magazine changed hands, I ceased to write for them and started to write for Rene Zgraggen in Montgomery, Alabama who had a website for many years. I have written my stories for it, one a month since 2005. Sadly, at the end of this month of July 2012, he is retiring from editing this fine and knowledgeable site. He has put his heart and soul into it and has been very successful with his hard work and keen ideas about ballroom dancing. He has had thousands reading his site and my column was one of many delightful ones he had incorporated in his website. He will be missed by the thousands who read his articles, notes, dates and ideas for ballroom dancing for many years. I too will miss him, but we will still be email friends and buddies. I also wrote for about eighteen months for the Fred Astaire website. I felt while doing it, that I was in touch with Fred himself even though he has been gone for many years. I always admired him and his dancing and all the thrills we all received watching his moves, his grace and his delight in being such a dedicated ballroom dancer, one of the first in the beginning of dance being accepted in the art world. I even imagined that I danced with him once, swinging and swaying and loving every minute of it. Now with Rene being retired, I will write for HuntValley-Cockeysville.Patch.com with the same excitement and happiness that I have been doing for over one year. I hope to continue with them for at least a decade until I am in my late eighties. They wrote up a woman who turned one hundred recently in a local weekly magazine. She still is vibrant, knowledgeable and happy. She lives in an assisted living home, but still does so much for herself without needing assistance. Her niece took her to a favorite restaurant as one of the many parties given to her this past week or so. She kept telling the young waiter that it was her birthday celebration and she wanted to see the boss. It seems she had been going to their old location for many years and knew him. He finally came over and everyone in the place sang Happy Birthday to her and he sent her at three different times food. One was a bowl of latkes (potato pancakes), a bowl of sweet potato fries and lastly a plate of a cake she loved, called rainbow striped cake. She herself is like a rainbow, different colors of time lived and time loved. She still is vivacious and enjoying life, as she goes into her 101 year of living and living pretty well. Unfortunately, she lived to see her only child, a son, die a few years ago and of course, all her siblings are gone too. She does have several grandsons, who came down to one of the celebrations from Philadelphia. There is a saying, the S in my name stands for sayings, I love them so much, “the wrinkled face that shows life’s experiences, the rough hands that mold the world, the body that stands proud in spite of difficulties encountered, that is real beauty.” Asian people are known for honoring and revering their aged folks and friends and they do not think of them as burdens. I think in this country, we may be learning some from that and we comprehend the three words starting with E in reference to our elderly people. They are enlightenment, edification and education. We see that older folks are still enlightened about the world, they are still receiving education by reading, doing, going and attaining and their edification is keeping them uplifted and they are constantly improving themselves. It does not matter whether I win or not in next year’s celebration mentioned above. I am still a winner in that I was nominated in the first place, that I am still able to accomplish my writings and hopefully I will get back to ballroom dancing, as soon as my physical therapy sessions are finished and that most of all, I am here still thinking, doing, wishing for good times, have my children, my husband and my four smart and gorgeous grandchildren. That makes me a victor, a champion and a title holder. Another saying sums it up: “the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” I have been blessed to feel all of this with my heart and also my soul. I still stand proud and tall. elita sohmer clayman this was written in 2012, but is still relevant in 2016