campaigns : Campaign Archive

February 8, 2007

Hot tomatoes, Cupid’s arrow, and be your own valentine

This is a special Valentine's Day greeting to all you fabulous tomatoes out there, with love from The Three Tomatoes. And we tomatoes are hot, hot, hot! In case you hadn’t noticed “women who aren’t kids” are being talked about in the media these days with headlines like this from the Daily News, “60 is the new sexy”-- thanks in large measure to amazing and still great looking actresses like Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, Diane Keaton and Sally Field who are back in the limelight. In fact, in last week’s The Three Tomatoes Poll, Meryl Streep got 43% of your votes as your favorite actress, followed by Diane Keaton with 30%. We think they’re all terrific actresses, especially Helen Mirren who’s getting so much Oscar buzz with The Queen. But we think her best role, which has been barely mentioned, was as police superintendent Jane Tennison in the BBC series “Prime Suspect,” which makes Law & Order seem like kids play. Helen, like so many actors in BBC series, always looks like real people, not like the Hollywood people in most of our series. And what we really admire about all of these actresses is that they’re making 60 look great, naturally (or close to it) just like the real tomatoes we know who are approaching or have even passed that number that used to seem well, really old. So take heart younger tomatoes – the best is yet to come.

This is not your mother’s sixty

With no offense meant to any of our mothers, our generation does look younger. And not just thanks to the “miracles” of pharmaceuticals. Personally, we think it’s attitude. We’re confident in a way many of our mothers weren’t, and darn it, we just down right refuse to think of ourselves as old. So those “unwritten rules” our mothers had, like no long hair after forty, covering up bare skin, and the notion that divorced or widowed women over 50 were doomed to loneliness, just don’t apply to us -- which brings us to three great stories of new love past the age of 50.

Cupid’s Arrow

Here are three great Valentine’s Day stories, all true.

Story # 1 is about two people, who were both in their late fifties and divorced for several years. Both had experienced long term relationships after their divorces which in the end, just didn’t work out, and they found themselves in the often dreaded category of single at age 50+. And while we never asked them, we suspect that both had probably given up on the idea of being in a serious relationship again. And then one evening about four years ago, at a local restaurant (turns out they both lived about ½ mile from each other) they were introduced by a mutual friend (in fact, an ex-boyfriend of the tomato). He asked her to dance, and then to dinner the next night, and they’ve been inseparable ever since. In fact so inseparable that last August they tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony in the park where they often met, surrounded by their friends, family, children and grandchildren. The bride was beautiful, the groom was nervous, and we all cried, and then laughed.

Story #2 also features two similarly aged couples, both also divorced for years. The tomato in this story spent a lot of years dating. And because she happens to be an especially hot tomato, she dated a steady stream of boy toys to the envy of the rest of us. But apparently even dating boy toys can grow old after a while. And then one day her company announced it had been acquired and jobs would be cut, and those who stayed would have to reapply for their jobs. So she and her group, lead by their boss, took appropriate action --- they headed to the nearest bar to console themselves. Well hot tomato and the boss, who had always liked each other, but in the most professional of ways, somehow saw each other in a different light that night. And before you can say hot tomato, they too became inseparable. They got engaged (ring and all) last fall. Her daughter threw them an engagement party; and we’re going to their May wedding. We’re not sure what color the bride is wearing (her daughter went with her to buy the gown), but we know the bride will be beautiful, the groom will be nervous and we’ll cry and laugh.

Now Story #3 does not end at the alter (yet, anyway), but on Sutton Place. Same start as couples 1 and 2, except in this case each one had been living in the burbs and decided when they became single, they’d move into New York City. Now tomato #3 has a great job, great apartment, and was loving living in New York where there’s always something to do, even if it’s by yourself. She regaled us one afternoon with a string of stories on disastrous dates, including men she met on the Internet. When her first Internet date showed up and turned out to be about 80 (not the 60 he said), she thought to herself, is this my life? Then one day, her daughter who was dating a really nice guy, who happened to have a divorced dad, suggested since they all lived in the City, they should get together for dinner one night. With absolutely no thoughts other than having a pleasant night out, kabam! They hit it off, and have been inseparable ever since. In fact, about a year ago, they each sub-leased their apartments to the kids (who have long since gone their separate ways) and bought a spectacular apartment on Sutton Place overlooking the River.

Be your own Valentine

Our last little story is about a couple of dear tomatoes who both lost their husbands about five years or so ago. Great guys whom we still miss, so we can only image their heartbreak. But not once, have either of them ever made us feel sorry for them. Tomato # 1 has a big family and tons of friends and realized early on that she’d never be a “fifth wheel” and is usually off skiing somewhere, or staying in Villas here and there.

Tomato #2 and her husband loved to travel. And when he died, she decided that rather than waiting for someone to go with, she’d just travel herself-- which she does often, and has made great new friends around the world. But here’s the best happy ending. She recently went through the horror of cancer, has been pronounced cancer-free, and called us last week to say she’s spending April in Paris-- a present to herself for being alive. Now that’s what we call a tomato!

Have a great one,

‘til next week,

The Three Tomatoes