By Steve Moran
This story from the Wall Street Journal, “You Don’t Need to Be a Billionaire to Ride in Her Rocket Car,” made me smile like crazy.
The Story
Ron Heitman built his first car more than 50 years ago, when he was just 16. Growing up, one of his favorite places to go with Cleveland’s Euclid Beach amusement park. It was where he took his first date. One of the rides at the park was a swing kind of ride called Rocket Ships.
One day in the 1970s, he was driving around Cleveland and spied one of the old rockets from the amusement park in someone’s backyard.
He stopped in front of the house, and the owner came out to see what he was doing. He asked about the Rocket Ship and was told that if he wanted it he could have it.
He took it home and turned it into a street legal car — initially just for the family to drive around in for fun.
At some point in time he found a second rocket ship and built a second car.
Today Ron is gone, but his daughter, Jen Heitman, and his widow continue to drive the Rocket Cars, providing rides to parties, for events, and at senior living communities.
Imagine
Imagine a senior living community acquiring a rocket car, or something else that was unique and fun, and offering it as an experience for the broader marketplace community. Something that put a smile on people’s faces, that made people say things like …
“What is that?”
“That is cool!”
“I want to go for a ride in that.”
Perhaps what senior living needs to do is embrace a little weirdness — that rather than attempting to fit in, to be just like everyone else, we need to celebrate what we do — and the entire process of aging as this unique time to spread your wings, to celebrate life, to smile and make others smile.
