It’s fun to take a whirl on the nostalgia train, but I’m more excited about unexplored roads ahead.
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The personal stories of one realtor’s battles and triumphs in the highly-competitive Bay Area real estate market, seeking to illuminate and humanize the very real ups-and-downs of homeownership.
Forty-eight years ago I made my stage debut as Porky Pig in “The Bugs Bunny Review” at Great America.
The following year, I was promoted to the lead role as Bugs (I was the headliner!) Back then, the park was owned by the Marriott corporation, and was not only known for its vast array of rides, but for its sparkling entertainment which included our fun-filled Looney Tunes show, a more serious song & dance review, daily parades, marching bands, barbershop quartets, a country band, a swing band, a dolphin show, an I-Max theater, a discotheque, street characters, and a full-blown circus with a flying trapeze!
In general, the performers were all recent high school graduates, and young college students who stayed 2-3 years before moving on. Some pursued their dreams in Hollywood. Others performed in Broadway musicals, The Ringling Brothers Circus, Sesame Street Live, or Disneyland. (The smart ones went to universities and got their degrees in anything BUT showbiz.)
Sadly, after 50 years, Great America is closing its doors at the end of this season. Sited on more than 100 acres, the park sold for $310 million in 2022 to a developer (boo). While no definitive plans have yet been shared with the city of Santa Clara, I imagine the park will be demolished to make way for high-rise condos, office buildings, or hi-tech campuses. (Sigh.)
Last weekend, Great America held a cast reunion for anyone who was involved in the shows, including the dancers, singers, techs, dressers, etc. About 50 of us met to laugh and reminisce about our experiences at the park. We were all older, grayer, and less starry-eyed than we had been as young performers five decades ago. More than a few were now sporting knee braces, or canes to navigate the grounds. Most of us had married, had families, and pursued careers away from the limelight, although many had given “showbiz” a legitimate run (including me). In my case, real estate was a far more lucrative and much longer career than “starving artist” turned out to be.
“That was kind of depressing,” my girlfriend said as we were leaving the event. “We’re so old.” (I prefer the term “experienced.”)
Looking back — and forward
Yes, our youth is certainly behind us, but on balance, most of us have led productive and fulfilling lives. In my case, I’ve traveled the world, hiked the Alps, biked through Europe, and forged wonderful friendships and partnerships along the way. I’ve transformed hundreds of properties, helped families into their dream homes, settled estates, dispensed advice (welcomed and unwelcomed), pointed people towards trusted vendors, and created employment opportunities that have helped sustain adjacent industries as well. I’ve contributed, discovered, explored, and given back whenever possible, so “depressed” wasn’t at all what I felt. What I felt was gratitude for the life I’ve lived thus far, and curiosity about what lies ahead . . . .
Moreover, “experience” with respect to my business — as I suspect with most professions — simply means we have more information to draw upon. (Nobody wants a brain surgeon who is conducting their first operation.) It means there are very few problems we run into that we haven’t seen before, or which we cannot find the answers. It means we’ve “walked the walk.” While this may be our Sellers’ first time selling a home, it’s our 500th. Consequently, we know how to resolve issues, whatever they may be. (Not always, but usually.)
In fact, the reunion reframed my thinking about aging, and my time at Great America in general, which I had neatly packed away, but look back on fondly and with great nostalgia. It’s not hyperbole to say that those two years at Great America were profoundly and personally transformative for me, not to mention a total hoot. For a brief moment in time, we were kindred spirits, but as fast friends tend to go, we drifted apart, and lost touch. (This was before the advent of Facebook, smartphones, and Instagram.) So, it was a gift to reconnect after all those years.
Are we older? For sure. But time has given me valuable appreciation for the past, and great excitement about the future. There’s unexplored roads ahead. While I didn’t end up rich and famous (as I had once dreamed), I had a decent run in LA, before starting a business, marrying my husband, raising two boys, moving to Piedmont, and establishing a thriving Real Estate practice. And while ALL lives undoubtedly deal with loss, pain, sickness, and challenges along the way, in truth, I’ve been luckier than most. Indeed, (to quote Frank Capra), I’ve led “a wonderful life,” and there’s more to come.
Much more.
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Julie Gardner & Sarah Abel | Compass Realty
Not just Realtors, but consultants in all things house and home, we’re here to educate, explore, examine and refer . . . In short, you may count on us to take care of your home as if it were our own and anyone who knows us, knows we take pretty darn good care of our homes.
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