Picture It

Picture it. Mississippi. 1985. A country boy turns on his television set in the living room to watch a comedy about four "women of a certain age" in Miami. It's Saturday night, and he's recently started his first real job after graduating (for the first time, at least) from college, having moved from the country to a "big town" (about 17,000 people, but it is Mississippi, after all). The show begins with three of the women already living together in the same house. One of them, Blanche, is getting ready for a date. The other two, Dorothy and Rose, are listening to Blanche talk about her new beau (a word we don't use much any more). The doorbell rings, and everyone assumes that it's the man. Instead, it's a tiny grey-haired woman with a wicker purse. Sophia, Dorothy's mother, has come to stay with her daughter because "the home" has burned down. Sophia has had a stroke that has damaged her ability to censor what she says. When she meets Blanche's date, he says to her that she must be Blanche's sister. Sophia's response: "You must be blind." After he and Blanche leave, Sophia calls him a "scuzzball." And so begins the first episode of The Golden Girls--the way I remember it anyway.

I have watched all of the episodes of this show. I even own a couple of seasons on DVD. I loved the humor that these women displayed. All of them were talented, perfectly cast for the parts that they acted. Rue McClanahan was a quintessential Southern belle, all frills and flirtatiousness. Betty White was always good for a laugh as the innocent Midwesterner with stories of her days in St. Olaf. Bea Arthur had the sass of a New Yorker down to a tee and could make a man--or anyone--wither with just a look. And then there was Estelle Getty. As Sophia, she was a mix of Old World charm, what with her stories about Sicily, and New World realism.

Estelle Getty passed away today. All of the tributes from her castmates on the show mentioned how grateful we should be that we still have the show to remember her. I don't even know that I need to watch any episodes to recall some of my favorite moments. Sophia battling Blanche for the affections of a handsome, older Cuban gentleman, responding to Blanche's announcement that she's going to soak in a tub with just enough water to cover her "perky bosoms" by saying, "You're only gonna sit in an inch of water?" Sophia telling Dorothy about how she and Dorothy's father conceived her at a festival "right behind the sausage and peppers stand." Sophia thinking that she's died and gone to heaven when she's really just injured and lying in a bed in a hospital elevator, suffering from a hernia thanks to having helped a group of older women lift a Volkswagon as part of a practical joke although she has blamed Dorothy for making her move furniture. When Dorothy tries to apologize, Sophia says, "Oh, please. It's wicker." In fact, wicker had quite a place on that show besides the purse that was always at Sophia's side, no matter the outfit. I loved one time when she stood in the middle of the living room and announced, "Enough wicker." Partner At The Time and I used to recite that line every time we went to Ikea and wandered through "that area" of the store. Priceless. Maybe not that funny, but still priceless.

Estelle Getty had been sick for some time, suffering from dementia. She hadn't made public appearances in years, not even when the cast was reunited a couple of times for those specials on Lifetime or the recent TV Land Awards show. It's as if she had the gift of Sophia to give us and then, having accomplished that special feat of generosity, she slowly drifted away from us. I know I've probably been writing too much about these losses we're experiencing in the entertainment business, but I'm not sure where to put the sadness that I feel when someone who has given so many pleasant memories is no longer here. I miss her even if I never met her in person. I really only know her as this character, but I'm still grateful to her for all of the moments that she allowed us to have.

Whenever Sophia told a story, she always began it: "Picture it. Sicily. 1942." The year would change, of course, and once or twice the location, but the lead-in was always the same. So if you were a fan of The Golden Girls and you too treasure the chances for laughter that we were given years ago, picture your favorite involving Estelle Getty. I think that's a fitting tribute.