Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2004. Mattie was almost two years old and whenever I see this photo I get a chuckle. Peter was trying to snap a photo of Mattie. Clearly, Mattie had other ideas. Whereas, I was sitting on the couch, looking wiped out. Mattie had two modes.... on and off. I remember Peter and I up at all hours and working the whole day away trying to raise Mattie. I said it then and I say it now, parenting was the toughest job I ever did.
Quote of the day: Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security. ~ John Allen Paulos
I think every young girl at the time could identify in some way with Laverne or Shirley, or at times both. Here were two women, who were the best of friends, trying to make a living, and trying to find their way in the world. Each week on TV they brought laughter, and at times sadness and reflection. They were one of the highest grossing TV shows and back then when regular TV channels were what most people had and watched, America was glued. This of course is a concept that doesn't apply to TV today, we have many more options and unlike when I was growing up, no one now says.... oh it's Thursday so the line up is.....
With the introduction of cable and streaming, everyone watches whatever they want. Those options weren't true in the 1970s, but what was the result was that many of those shows influenced how we communicated with each other. I know when I went to school, there were kids who were imitating Fonzi from Happy Days (leather jacket, the thumbs up), Mork from Mork and Mindy (in fact there was a kid who would greet me each day with a mork hand shake!), and who could forget singing the opening theme song of Laverne and Shirley.... Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated. We gonna make our dreams come true, doing it our way!
I think Cindy Williams' death points something out to me that is hard to grasp. Despite how much one does in this world, the memory and impact we can make are fleeting. How many kids today know who Cindy Williams was? Have they ever heard of Laverne and Shirley? I suspect the answer is very few! There are days, like today, that I can get down on myself. For my inability to get anything done, my inability to focus, to work, and basically feel like I am contributing to something bigger than myself. But then I step back and look at these icons. What they did for TV, for women in the industry, and how they influenced the lives of their viewers is tremendous. But at the end of the death, we all die, and this is the equilibrating factor. What keeps a memory alive are the lasting connections we make on this earth. Which is why as long as Laverne and Shirley viewers are alive, their contributions remain alive forever.
Of course I feel this philosophy also applies to my Mattie, which is why for 15 years I have been writing this blog. I know all too well how easy it is to forget, and how much harder it is to remember the fine details. But these details do matter and they are important to me.
Clips from Laverne and Shirley:
No comments:
Post a Comment