65 years later, and the hair is the same!

I am obsessed with a lot of things that people my age are generally not obsessed with. You are probably starting to get that. I love game shows, retro television, classic rock music. I love Betty White.


When I say I love her, I don't mean that I started loving her when she was thrown to the ground in a commercial for this year's Super Bowl. Don't get me wrong, I laughed my tookus off when I saw that commercial, and it is definitely my bet for the best commercial of this Super Bowl. And best commercial of any Super Bowl. Ever.

I loved her when I was little watching reruns of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (again, thank you, Ted Turner, for reruns weekday afternoons!). I remember laughing, even though I didn't know then that Sue Ellen was a nympho supremo. In my child-mind, I thought she was much more entertaining than Mary, and couldn't understand why it wasn't the Sue Ellen Nivens Show.

Then came Mama's Family, my first run-in with Betty-Rue. Although I knew Rue McClanahan from Maude (Oh, Bea-Rue, how I love that combo! But more on that later!), I was intrigued by the constant banter and love between the characters of Ellen and Fran. They seemed like they could be sisters. I might add that I was completely horrified when I found out one day that Vicki Lawrence was the same age as my mother but looked like my grandmother! Could this be the same Vicki Lawrence from The Carol Burnett Show? Oh my god, yes it was!

Oh, Rose Nylund. Golden Girls (and a year, two?, of Golden Palace) brought you into my home once again. I could write for pages and pages about Rose Nylund. I loved that show. The combination of Bea-Betty-Rue-Estelle made me laugh every week. Once again, my young mind was all confused when I learned that the youngest cast member of all was Estelle! The deception of Hollywood...

I love The Golden Girls to this day. I watch reruns now, as an adult, and get the jokes I didn't get when it was originally on the air, in my lifetime, ages 9-16. I think I stopped watching it around age 13 or 14, and am now happy to say I have caught up on all the good stuff I gave up on.

Each of these women have impacted my life in some way or another. I would like to say that I am a little more fearless because of Blanche. Her honesty about who she was and her love of men and dating made me less shy around people. I believe Dorothy's brains made me want to be smart. And she taught English, which has always been my favorite subject. She was not afraid to speak her mind and it made me want to be strong like that, too. Sophia was funny and sarcastic, much like myself (and short - me too!), as well as kind. Those two traits are rarely found in a single character.

Then there is Rose. Simple, funny, innocent, small-town Rose. I am from a small town, and Rose's memories of St. Olaf made me reminiscent of my own small town. Her humor was impeccable. But most of all, she had the kindest heart of anyone on television. Rose wanted peace in a world where there was so little of it. Her simpleton nature made it seem like anything was possible. And to her, it was.

Then there is the real Betty White. The one from game shows. I was obsessed with game shows as a kid. (I still am - I love to watch the game show network!) As a result, I have a lot of trivial knowledge in this head of mine. My favorites were Match Game (still my favorite! Oh, how I love Richard Dawson!), Password, and Press Your Luck. Ms. Betty White was a frequent guest on two of these. Match Game is my favorite game show of all time. I get a little giddy when it is on, even to this day.

So, why all this talk of Betty White? Well, today it was announced that the Facebook campaigning to get her to host Saturday Night Live worked. Who knew? Although I think it will be amazing to watch Betty White on SNL, I did not join that group because I thought it was like every other Facebook group, frivolous. So when I opened up my computer today and read that it actually worked, that Lorne Michaels himself said he could not possibly ignore the response! In addition to responding as millions want, he is putting Betty White on the show on Mother's Day, and bringing back several former female cast members, including another woman I love and admire, Tina Fey!

I love dogs. Betty loves dogs. Need I say more?

It is also interesting to note that Betty White has had basically the same hair style since, I think, birth.
Oh Betty, I can't wait to see you on Saturday Night Live! And congrats on your Lifetime Achievement Award. You deserve it!  You've got spunk, girl!  I love that!

I guess dreams really do come true.