There's a 66-year-old sky diver and a 67-year-old stunt driver. And then there's 84-year-old Woofenden.

Her bubbly laugh slips out again.

''Watch me, I come out of the mountains,'' she says, studying the commercial like she hasn't seen it before.

''I love it!'' she yells, slapping her knee as she sees herself on the screen.

Apparently, others do, too.

''I went to a wedding the other day and honest to God, it was unbelievable the number of people who came up to me,'' she says.

She's even on YouTube, but admits she's never seen the clip online. She's not sure how to work a computer, she says, though she has one in her home. (Nonetheless, she has a website, www.franceswoofenden.com.)

And just last month, a stranger from Las Vegas called. He said he saw her television commercial and wanted to know whether an 84-year-old woman was really water-skiing or if the person was a stand-in.

'I said, `That was the real me!' '' Woofenden said.

``People have been questioning me for a long, long time. I'm different''

And . . . well . . . how much longer will she give people that opportunity?

That's the million-dollar question, Woofenden says, this time giving that loud, deep chuckle. Maybe those knees will hold out another year, she says. Or two. Maybe as long as five. Who knows? ''I see people who have deteriorated because of their age, and I wonder if that's going to happen to me,'' she says. 'But it hasn't happened yet. I keep saying `I'm different.' There's no doubt about it.''

Until then, Woofenden will keep gliding across water, the octogenarian in the violet bathing suit and gold hoop earrings. Not thinking about her age. Or even her knees. Just twisting and turning and twirling like a dancer. Leaving in her wake looks of admiration and disbelief.

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