Bea Arthur - You Were Phenomenal

It's funny when people die, I'm always filled with a myriad of questions about them - as if the information is fleeting or I need to know much more about them to remember them. I remember someone saying once, "A person never really dies as long as someone keeps their memory alive."

I will always remember Bea Arthur. She's an icon of the 70s and 80s, feminism, women's rights, and was an active supporter of gay rights. She was a woman I always looked up to for some reason and strangely felt I knew, though I'd never met her - always wanted to. I suppose because I grew up sneaking episodes of Maude before my dad caught me and made me turn off the TV: "I can't stand that woman and don't want her in my house!" he'd balk. I guess for good reason "back in the day," too: Her character had an abortion on Maude - in the 70s!!

In the 80s, I didn't catch as many episodes of the Golden Girls as I wanted, but loved it when I could watch (we didn't have Tivo then, don't forget); it was a guilty pleasure. I remember seeing Bea Arthur walking down Madison Ave. in NYC back in the 80s during one of my first trips to the city. I will certainly be catching up on my Golden Girls now!

Rest in peace, Ms. Arthur; I'm glad your fight ended peacefully in the presence of friends and family, but you will be sorely missed.