Hello my friends,
This is my first post designated to my “Lifestyle” page. It is dedicated to Mary Tyler Moore, who I am sure you all know passed away last Wednesday at the age of 80. I grew up watching reruns from the Dick Van Dyke Show and never missed an episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show during the 70’s.
There are so many famous lines, amazing characters, and great scenes from that show. Do you remember the episode about the death of Chuckles the Clown? OMG! That’s the episode where the newsroom cast couldn’t stop laughing at his funeral, and the more inappropriate it was, the more they laughed! Who hasn’t started laughing from nerves or whatever at a time when you LEAST want to do so? Anyway, it was hilarious, and a true slice of life.
MTM really was a trailblazer with this show. As a single thirty-something lady, she wasn’t married or even intending to marry, but rather to be successful in life. This was a whole new way of thinking at that time. There was a great article in the LA Times about the writer of the theme song. His name is Sonny Curtis and he is 79. He said that for the first season the song included the line, “How will you make it on your own?” and ended with, “You might just make it after all.” After the first year, he had to change the line since she clearly WAS making it; so the lyric for the second season was changed to “You’re gonna make it after all.” How great is that?
So, for my tribute to her, I tried to get a shot of me throwing my hat in the air as she did on the opener of the show. I feel like we had a lot in common. Well, OK, except that she was a tall lady with a dancer’s body, a brunette, very well-off financially, an amazing actress (she was fabulous on Ordinary People!), it was winter in Minneapolis and it is winter in Southern California (which is very different), and — well, you get the picture. So, here it is…
I am sure that my fond memories of her and the Mary Tyler Moore Show will entice me to watch the reruns, once again. And they will make me smile and laugh out loud. I hope they do the same for you. Just think of the lines of that song: Love is all around, no need to waste it.
Warmly,
Darlene
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