My friend Nancy commented that many of my stories almost seem like they are set in an earlier time–kind of long ago and far away. In many ways she’s right. My parents grew up during the Great Depression, and their lives were formed by hard work and poverty like I never knew. They went from ancient Model Ts and farming with mules to watching a man walk on the moon. Mother lived until 2004 and was almost 87 when she died.
I am the youngest of their five children. So my early life was a mix of homemade biscuits, watching the Grand Ole Opry on TV on Saturday nights, and the Baptist church–and also being bused for school integration, watching riots and wars on TV, and knowing the high school drug dealers. And I spent a lot of time watching TV.
My parents’ lives in their young days were a bit like “The Waltons,” which was set on a farm during the Depression. I loved that show! I felt like a female version of John Boy, only more determined to get off the farm and to a big city.
I think my favorite show, however, was “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” She was determined to make it on her own, and she was beautiful and smart, and trying to learn to be aggressive enough to compete with the guys. And she was so funny! Here’s my high school senior picture.
Check out the hairstyle. Who does that remind you of? Yes, for those of you who didn’t know me then, I was once a brunette 😉
As time went by, I moved on to watching “Dallas” and “Dynasty,” but I didn’t see myself in them. It took “Murphy Brown” before I identified with a character again.
So, if you had to tell your early life in TV shows, which ones would you choose?
writinghersense 