Activist
Mary Tillman:
A Mother’s Mission
Media
THE METER
In 2004, Pat Tillman, 27—who left the NFL
to join the Army after 9/11—died on a hillside
in Afghanistan. The military insisted he was
killed by the Taliban, but Tillman’s mother,
Mary, uncovered the truth: He had been hit by
“friendly fire” from U.S. forces. Mary’s efforts
are featured in a searing new documentary,
The Tillman Story. She spoke with AARP THE
MAGAZINE about her son’s death.
Q: Do you think you’ll ever learn exactly what
happened in Pat’s final hours and why? If you read the
accounts of the way he died, it’s all very nebulous, so I don’t
think we’ll ever find out. It’s pretty clear a cover-up happened.
I don’t think anyone denies that.
Q: You believe his death was used as pro-military propaganda.
If you could speak to those who ordered the cover-up, what
would you say? I would say that these young people serve their
country for honorable purposes, and to use them for any reason
is disgusting and immoral. —Jeffrey Ressner
Kaiser Permanente
Its mammogram
ads, featuring mature
women dancing to
Michelle Shocked’s
“When I Grow Up,”
offer a never-too-late
message that’ll drive
you to make that
appointment.
THE GOOD FIGH T
Mary Tillman
pushed the military
for answers about
her son’s death.
As a novelty group, the Village
People were expected to last
four years, tops. Yet as they
celebrate the 30th anniversary
of their campy film, Can’t Stop
the Music, the six current musicians (three from the original
group) are still performing for
disco lovers around the world.
Now ages 44 through 63, they
are so aerobically toned they
hardly break a sweat onstage,
though “construction worker”
David Hodo’s elbows occasionally pop from years of forming
the letters to “Y.M.C.A.,” their
1978 monster hit. The key to
Disco Dynamos
Village People:
Macho Men
AGEIST
My Dad Says
We love William
Shatner, but his latest
career move—a new
CBS sitcom in which he
plays a 72-year-old
whose purpose in life
is to spew crude
sarcasm—makes us
long for T. J. Hooker.
VILLAGE PEOPLE ILLUSTRATION BY SEAN MCCABE (IMAGES COURTESY OF SIXUVUS LTD.); PHOTOS, CLOCK WISE FROM TOP LEF T: NE W
YORK DAILY NE WS ARCHIVE VIA GE T T Y IMAGES; COURTES Y OF KAISER PERMANEN TE; RON P. JAFFE/CBS VIA GE T T Y IMAGES; NE WSCOM
their enduring success? “We
take people back to a simpler
time,” says cofounder Felipe
Rose, who wears the Native
American costume in honor of
his Lakota Sioux heritage.
“Music takes us to places we
remember.” Says Hodo: “I
always say that when they call
you a flash in the pan, be the
one who burns the kitchen
down.” —Alanna Nash
