Thank you for being a friend

Okay, so most of you know me pretty well. And if you do you know all too well about my love of the Golden Girls. I absolutely LOVE this show. It borders on ridiculous. It gives me a warm, homey, comfortable feeling -- long before my parents were even close to old enough for the age association. (they still aren't) It's hilarious, seriously. Maybe there's something wrong with me (I do have all 7 seasons on DVD) but it's a show I can watch over and over again. It's mindless. It's background. It's me.

And as I'm sure most of you have heard, Bea Arthur passed away this past Saturday due to a long battle with cancer. I guess it shouldn't have surprised me really, but I'll be honest, it still hurt a little. I watch this woman on TV almost daily. Okay... daily. Her character was powerful but loving; NY-East Coast but pulled from her element to a warmer more laid back place.

My girlfriends back home and I used to play a game where we'd try to figure out which characters we'd be on the show. I was Bea's character Dorothy. Secretly I always hated it. She wasn't really the "pretty one" or the "popular one" or even necessarily the "successful one." Why in the world was I Dorothy??

Throughout this weekend she'd randomly pop into my head - Bea the person, Dorothy the character. I thought about why the show worked, and then why the friendships worked. Each character gave a little bit, bent a little bit, pushed one another on a little bit. And as I started to peel it apart I realized I was kind of proud to be Dorothy. She was a rock in tough times (scared off a robber in the 1st season), she was a jack of all trades (she fixed a toilet and a sink, was a substitute teacher, sang and danced!), she loved her mother and was a voice of reason when things got tough. I don't claim to live up to all of those characteristics but I'm so honored that my girlfriends thought she was who I most closely matched.

Their times together were never perfect. There were fights and misunderstandings. Cheesecake. (come on, it's TV) And then I thought about the people in my life and how we all work together - my wonderful husband, my girlfriends at home and all across the country (you know who you are!), my family - Sheerer's and Hall's! There are the peacemakers, the lovers, the encourager's, the scientists, the risk-takers, the politicians. I love the blend of people in my life.

I pray for the same synergism for the cast and crew of Sudden Death. That we find a wonderful blend of the right personalities and talents. I realize that it won't be perfect; that it will take hard work and dedication towards the same purpose - a fabulous film we can all be proud of. But I pray that when I look back on this experience it will replay in my memory much the same way the Golden Girls does. I want to be able to watch it over and over again, seeing how well it all came together; how even with our differences we still came together in love. And maybe I'll find a moment to be a rock, a voice of reason and to show love and compassion to those around me. Maybe I'll be Dorothy.

Thanks for being a friend, Bea Arthur.