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| Golden Threads Celebration |
A former horse farmer, actress, businesswoman,
college teacher and nun, Christine Burton was
seventy-two years old and increasingly lonely
living in upstate New York when a lesbian
networking service returned her application
and check with a note: "Have you made a
mistake about your date of birth? Nobody
wants to meet lesbians older than 50."
Rather than admit defeat, Burton turned
rejection into inspiration and launched Golden Threads several years later after
turning eighty, with the motto "You're never too old to love or be loved."
Today, the group's quarterly newsletter connects more than 1,600 women
worldwide. Each summer, this unique organization holds a weekend-long
celebration in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
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| Filmmaker Lucy Winer with Christine and guest |
GOLDEN THREADS chronicles the group's ninth
annual weekend celebration, attended by lesbians
from all over the country. With the irrepressible
Burton presiding, the women "no one was looking
for" gather to discuss the realities of growing old
and to share their memories of lesbian life.
Smashing stereotypes of seniors as bland, sexless
beings, the women meet, dance and flirt, thrilled to
be surrounded by kindred spirits. Ruth Ellis, who at
ninety-six is the event's oldest participant, takes a
break from dancing to shoot pool in the bar and rib her opponent. Meanwhile,
as filmmaker Lucy Winer grapples with her own dread of aging, her wry,
self-reflective musings provide a witty, bittersweet counterpoint to the weekend's
joyous communal spirit.
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| Christine Burton |
"Each one of us is a thread in the fabric of
humankind," says Burton. "Each of us is
necessary in our own way. If we reject anyone
it's like taking a thread out of the fabric - it
weakens the fabric." An inspiration to anyone
who's ever thought it was too late to tackle new
challenges, Burton is living proof that growing
old doesn't have to mean losing your edge or
giving in.
The film takes a serious turn when Burton suffers a massive stroke 24 hours
after her victorious Provincetown weekend. Suddenly, this fiercely
independent woman is left unable to walk, talk, read or write. Winer and her
crew visit the ailing Burton in a nursing home, and what began as a "feel good"
documentary about an inspirational elder now expands to include the harsh
realities of illness, institutionalization and isolation that face so many older
people in our society today.
Yet even in illness, Burton's everyday heroism shines through. By the film's
end, Winer has survived her midlife crisis and Burton, spurred on by physical
therapists and her own indomitable life force, is undergoing a remarkable
rebirth. "The fear of growing old is a terrifying form of entrapment. You hit
a certain age and you begin to feel less good about yourself," says Winer.
"But life can begin, open up and change at any age." "Christine teaches us
that any kind of difficult situation can be seen as an opportunity to reinvent
yourself," adds Eaton. "She shows us that we all have the power - at
eighteen or eighty - to transform our own lives and the lives of others."
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