You are all probably sick to death of me mentioning poetry but it struck me today that I had always meant to post this poem that really signifies what The Golden Girls stands for, but I have never gotten around to sharing it. Let me know what you think of it.

Warning - When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple
By Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple

with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired

and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

and run my stick along the public railings

and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

and pick the flowers in other people's gardens

and learn to spit.


You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

and eat three pounds of sausages at a go

or only bread and pickles for a week

and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.


But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

and pay our rent and not swear in the street

and set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
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It actually makes me want to grow old. Who doesn't look forward to the days when they can do what they want and get away with it because they are elderly? The line, "But maybe I ought to practice a little now?" has really inspired me to be more spontaneous with what I do.

Stephen, how cool! Half a world away, and you know that poem. Most people I mention to have no idea what I'm talking about — unless they're familiar with The Red Hat Society.

My sister and I ran across this poem many, many years before I heard of the Red Hat Society, so I've always wondered if this poem wasn't the inspiration behind the club, creating an entire movement of senior ladies to have fun. Either way, so cool!

How cool! I really like that poem, Stephen. Thanks for sharing it! And it does make me think about the Girls.

Oh! And I wikied the Red Hat Society (clicky!), and it does come from the first 2 verses of the poem. Fascinating, isn't it?

Thanks, GabZ, you saved me a google someday. I figured there had to be a connection because RHS members may wear red hats, but their clothes are purple. My mother-in-law was a member, and I have her RHS teddybear, Ima Lotsafun; she's wearing a red hat and a purple dress.

Life is so funny sometimes. Here we are talking about this and my Mom (who is 67 - I guess a Golden Girl) is a member of the Red Hat Society. And these ole gals are a hoot! I have hung out with my Mom and a couple of her friends Patsy and Heather (see pic) and they love the foolishness they get up too. It's quite uplifting to see them have so much fun.

I'm glad to see you all enoying the poem. I had never heard of the RHS before but it sounds really entertaining.

I enjoyed seeing it again, and I just love GWL's pic! Those hats are something else, proof positive that these ladies are indeed a hoot.

GWL, did your mom & her friend customize their own hats, or order them from RHS? I saw hats for sale on the website, but not that zany. Making RHS hats, now that would be a fun job.

Actually, of the two ladies in the pics, neither is my Mom, but her two friends. I believe that the purple clothes and red hats are all Thrift store finds and self-made. My Mom has joined another chapter near her home, as these ladies are here in Toronto, but when Mom is up visiting me, she hangs out with them. And they take her to all kinds of RHS events. That's how she (and I ) learned about it. It is really taking off, so much so that it was even mentionned on a soap a few weeks back. Lisa, on As the World Turns, who runs the hotel on the show said, "I have to get the ballroom ready for the Red Hat ladies..." I laughed! How funny is that - that I never heard of them and now, they seem to be everywhere. My Mom does alot of cross-stitch (a type of needle work) and I have found her some Red Hat designs to make for her and her friends...

That's really sweet!

Still Standing is a show Lifetime has scheduled after TGG, so I catch quite a few (it's hit & miss, but it's ok). They have an entire ep about Nanna, played by Sally Struthers, being in RHS. It was cute, Sally does zany well.