"Adventures of a Young Widow"

Pictured: Beverly on her houseboat, Another Life, moored in Key Largo

PART 2 Interview of Beverly Ostler "Adventures of a Young Widow"

Interview by Rhett Palmer

For those who have visited our studio at Royal Palm Pointe, you may remember being greeted at the door with the warm smile of Beverly Ostler. She had called Rhett and said she wrote a book and wanted to be on the radio. She mailed the book and waited. Then she decided to drop by the studio one afternoon and this interview was arranged. Something about her made Rhett ask her on the spot to be the studio concierge and she accepted! Her desire and perseverance to be interviewed led her to our door and the encounter has turned into a wonderful friendship.

We’re continuing our conversation with Beverly Ostler who wrote a book called "Act II, the Unpredictable Adventures of a Young Widow." We left off last month when your husband suddenly died.

Do you know statistics say the most stressful thing that can happen in your life is to lose a loved one? And then you know what happens? Fear sets in. “I’m alone. Where is my rock?” And that’s what happened.

For two years I was numb. I had a business, Classic Age, a talent modeling agency for people over 40, and it was very successful, but I had no interest anymore, my rock was gone. He would encourage me when I had bad days, and he did my books for me. So giving up that position just made my life emptier. I just couldn’t function as well. On the outside I looked fine.

So I want you to know my friends and family were so wonderful. They were there supporting me – not pitying me, just supporting me. And then I decided after two years of living this life alone in my house – a big house with bedrooms, bathrooms that I didn’t need – I decided I wanted to be warm, and I decided that I would come to Florida. And that’s how my life in Florida started.

But I had to travel alone. I had to drive as far as Lorton, Virginia, to get on the Auto Train. I was terrified. And the next morning I got off the train and I thought, “I’ll call somebody and maybe they’ll let me stay overnight until I find a job.”

So you landed in Sanford, got off the Auto Train, and you knew not where you were going?

I had friends in Fort Lauderdale and they were wonderful, they made me feel very secure, but I still felt very alone. And I had to find a job.

Tell us about some of your jobs.

When I went to Florida, I decided that I would like to be in an interesting environment. I was employed at Liberties Bookstore in Boca Raton and I met some famous authors. I met Nora Roberts, Michael Connolly, and I interviewed these famous authors.

You mean in front of a live audience?

Yes. I really enjoyed that, yes.

But jobs down in Boca Raton paid very little money so I needed to find another way to support myself. So I got a job as a Recreation Director at Harbor’s Edge, a retirement home. That was really wonderful.

What did you do there?

I was an escort for 35 people on a cruise to South America. And let me tell you, that was really quite an experience! In fact, during the cruise on the way to Venezuela, somebody had a heart attack on the ship in front of me, and somebody fell down the stairs, but fortunately they weren’t my guests. So I had a really interesting experience. I planned all their activities to keep the people happy.

I also worked at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, a very posh club. That was kind of an interesting way for me to enjoy my job, because I was a model, and I had to model around the swimming pool and act really poised like I loved what I was doing. It was fascinating.

A lot of my jobs are just for one season. Every winter when I went to Florida I had a different job that would last for three or four months.

And you did this purposely?

Oh, yes.

Now, the training you got with John Travolta’s mom in acting, did that help you in these jobs?

Well, it gave me confidence, because with modeling you have to be self-assured. And also in the bookstore, I had to be articulate.

You were also a model at Chico’s Clothing Store?

That’s another part-time job in Florida. A lot of jobs you could do in the evening. The bookstore was the evening, and some of the shops were evening. And then during the day I worked at the retirement community.

If you work in the evening it keeps you from being at home alone.

And that’s exactly why I did it, yes.

Now, you worked at a jewelry store. Were you a model at the jewelry store?

I sold fine jewelry and beautiful handbags.

And I know you were a concierge for us at our radio studio for a number of years, right?

Oh, yes. I greeted the people and I also was a co-host, and that I found to be really fascinating. And that’s where my theater background helped.

What about jobs in Stowe when you went back north?

Well, I was a guide on the trolley and I took them all around Stowe, up to the mountain, to the Trapp Family Lodge, and I showed them where the swimming holes were.

Now, the Trapp Family Lodge, tell us succinctly what that is.

Well, that’s where the von Trapp family lived when they came from Austria after their singing tour. And then Maria became famous because of her book...

And the movie The Sound of Music?

And The Sound of Music. So when my husband and I moved here, he became her right-hand man and he was such an asset to her. She liked to give money away to charities, and also when she was in front of many people, he was able to safely escort her, because everybody wanted to touch her and get her autograph. So he had an interesting position.

Beverly with author Michael Connolly at the Liberties Book Store in Boca Raton

Courtesy Beverly Ostler

Now, as the trolley tour guide, how did you ferret out interesting historic information?

Because I lived there for many years. There are so many favorite spots, and as we passed spots, I could give them stories. I even had a story about one of the Kennedys walking around nude in front of the chambermaid up on the mountain, because they frequented Mt. Mansfield. So people loved hearing those stories.

What other jobs did you have?

I was hostess at a pancake house. That was fun. I learned a lot about people. In fact, one person calling to give me his name to reserve, he said, “It’s Sponge Bob.” And I didn’t know anything about Sponge Bob. I was very naïve. [chuckle]

I was also looking for night work and I saw an ad in the paper that said “phone actress.” I thought, “That’s right up my alley.”

Uh-oh.

So I went and I was interviewed and I found out it was for sex talk! The job was from 1:00 to 5:00 AM, and they had people behind the curtain. And I said, “Well, I’ll give it a try.” And he said, “You look too young and innocent to be doing this,” so that ended that job.

They didn’t hire you?

No, they didn’t even hire me. [chuckle] Thank goodness!

I know you were a hospital volunteer.

When I came back to Florida I thought, “I’ve got to give some of my time to other people.” So I was an advocate, I was a person who was there for people.

And you volunteered at Riverside Theater and the art museum.

I’m amazed when I look back at all the energy I had! I don’t have as much energy any more, but my enthusiasm is there.

And you know what’s interesting? And I want people to realize, be open to people helping you. Don’t be proud and say, “That’s not me; I can’t live off somebody else.” I was able to support myself, I had money from my agency and that’s what I survived on. But people helped me, and they would say, “Oh, there’s a job opening.”

Beverly was the hostess at the Ocean Reef club in Key Largo

Courtesy Beverly Ostler

There was the job opening at the Liberties Bookstore where I acted as a hostess there, introduced the authors and explained their background, and then it was only a nighttime job. In the daytime I worked at the Boca Pops Orchestra answering phones and helping out, encouraging people to come to different shows.

What gave you the courage to write your own book?

Well, I’m fortunate that my husband’s best friend is a writer, Jack Drake. Every winter I used to stop and see them in Florida, and he said, “You’ve had an interesting life. We need to write about it.” So that’s what we did.

Did he charge you a fee, or just help out?

I paid the publishing fees and we shared the profits, whatever we received. I wasn’t in it to make money; I was in it to share that there’s a way to live, to keep on living, and not to give up. It’s living. I was determined to enter life and stay there.

Now, you said you have some stories about a houseboat. Was this before your husband’s death or after?

Oh, this is after.

You bought a boat?

Yes. I did things in life that I never thought I would do. There was a force within me, it said, “You have to live, you have to try.”

So anyway, when I was still in Vermont I had lunch with somebody at a marina and I saw some houseboats there, and I said to myself, “I’m going to have a houseboat.” So before I went to Florida, I kept telling people,

“I’m going get a houseboat,” and everybody laughed at me and thought

I was crazy. But it’s like what Wayne

Dyer says: “If you believe it, you will see it.” So I kept believing I was going to buy a houseboat.

The law of attraction, absolutely.

So I got to Florida and I had other friends who wanted to put me up, Nancy and Cal. And I said to them, “I’m going to buy a houseboat,” and they really literally laughed at me. I said, “No, that’s going to be a nice way to live,” and they just said, “Oh, Bevy, no, no, that’s ridiculous.”

Where did you find the power not to listen to the naysayers? There’s always somebody there, a voice saying, “You can’t do it.”

Boy, if I knew that secret! I don’t know.

Well, you have it.

I don’t know why. Because as a wife, I was subservient. Not that he ordered me around, but I just leaned on him. “You make the big decisions, you take care of the checkbook.” I was just into the arts, like floating around.

All those years you were waitingto blossom and it took his death to show the strength that you actually had.

Isn’t that a positive out of a negative?

Absolutely!

Years ago I used to think, “Oh, my gosh, if George dies, I’ll literally fall apart.” And I didn’t fall apart. But it was rough going, I did a lot of crying.

So the next morning my friend said, “Oh, okay, Bev, we’re going to go along with your idea.” And they took me down to a marina and I saw this junky old houseboat. This shows you I was very naïve. And I think that’s an asset because you don’t think of all the negatives! [laughter]

It worked for Forest Gump; he just kept going forward. You know what I mean?

Yes! So they showed me this junky boat and it was a low price, like $20,000. I was so naïve, I thought, “Oh, I can fix it up, I can do it.” And I said, “Let me find a place where we can moor it.” That’s the most expensive part of being a boat owner.

I went up and down the whole East Coast, and I was just about ready to give up. And I pulled into the first marina in Key Largo, and I went to the office and the man said to me, “What are you looking for?” I said, “A houseboat, but I can’t afford much.” And he said, “Well, do you already have something?” And I said, “No, I haven’t decided yet.”

So he took me out on the dock, and all of a sudden I saw this beautiful houseboat, and he took me inside and I thought, “This is ridiculous, I could never afford it.” And he said, “We can negotiate.” And I said, “How much would this cost me a month?” And he said, “$200.”

The man lost his wife and he wanted to get out of owning a houseboat. And right then and there I said, “Sold!” and it only cost me $18,000. [laughter]

So for $200 a month you had virtually a brand new beautiful houseboat. How did you learn to pilot it? I didn’t; I just lived on it for a while.

Oh, you didn’t go anywhere? And then I met a captain.

Ah, you met “ze capitán!”

Yes. And he said, “Let’s travel around Florida.” And we did. We started at Key Largo, went to Islamorada, and went around to Fort Myers and Naples. But while we were gone and we were traveling there on the Gulf of Mexico, a tremendous storm came up. And this shows you how naïve I was. I had such faith in this captain that the storm came up, and these huge waves were hitting the bow, and they were about 10 feet high, and I remember thinking, “Oh, this is really exciting!” [chuckle]

He looked at me like, “Bev, I think we’ve got a problem. Look at how low the bow is.” The boat was taking on water and then suddenly I realized this was serious. So he went down below and found out the bilge pump was clogged. So I was down there, and boy, I don’t pray very much for me because I always want to pray for other people, but this time I was praying for me! I was down there with all the water, and I was thinking, “I don’t know whether we’re going to make it,” and I said, “Please, God, help us get out of this.” And so we just were able to clear the water out, and then we went back to normal. But it was a life-and-death experience, because the whole front of the boat was down, and I’ll never forget that.

So this was not a romantic affiliation with this captain, he was just a hired captain?

No, it was romantic. I was looking for a companion.

So what happened to the captain?

It lasted for a while. But I was still judging, I was comparing. When you’ve had a steak, you don’t want hamburger. [chuckle]

How did you get to Vero Beach? I visited my cousin Carole Scully who lives off A1A, and I observe this community, and for the arts this is the greatest.

I have to give credit to my co-writer, Jack Drake. When I came down every winter, I would stop and visit he and his wife Dee. And I said, “Jack, another adventure,” and he said, “Bev, we would like to hear about your adventures.” So two years ago he said, “You’ve had so many adventures, you need a book.” I said, “Oh, no, no.” He said, “You need a book,” and he said, “I want to guide you. You’ve got to write this book, because it’s a sharing, and women will find out they’re capable of surviving on their own.” Not only women, I know men are fearful of being alone, too. Being alone is a terrible fear.

So really your book is for women and men?

Exactly. So it was Jack and Dee, they inspired me. And fortunately I kept journals. My memory was pretty good for this age, and I was able to relay all the events that happened in my life.

The title of the book is Act II: The Unpredictable Adventures of a Young Widow, by Beverly Kraft Ostler and John D. Drake, PhD. “For all who have lost loved ones and must find their way alone.” Get it at Amazon.com. Thank you, you’re an encouragement to many.

Thank you for the privilege of sharing.