ME AND MARY "RICHARDS" TYLER MOORE

Is there a TV show that had an influence on your life?

Perhaps Julia Child's shows inspired a love of cooking?

Or, maybe Rick Steves travel shows sparked a desire to see the world?

Perchance CSI Miami gave impetus to enrollment in studying forensics? 

If you would have asked me a few weeks ago whether a TV show 
had any influence on my life, I would have said no.

I mean, Baywatch didn't sway me to take the lifeguard test.......

Glee didn't embolden me to audition for a Broadway show........

And, Spongebob Squarepants didn't ignite a passion in me 
to flip burgers at a fast food joint.

I've had so many favorite TV shows over the years,
I'd be hard pressed to pick out one above the rest.

But the recent passing of Mary Tyler Moore

got me nostalgic for one of my favorite sitcoms of all time.

Mary Richards first took on Minneapolis when was when I was in high school, 

and her show ran until my last year of college. 
In that pre-DVR era, I made sure to be 
in front of the TV, faithfully, week after week.
 

After her death, I read all of the tributes to Mary on my Facebook page,

and it wasn't until a day later,

that it occurred to me that perhaps, on some sub-conscious level,

The Mary Tyler Moore show did play a role in my life's path. 

Hmmmmmm.....

Me, many years ago, early in my television career, wearing a hideous sweater.

I can't say I turned the world on with my smile......
and I surely couldn't take a nothing day, 

and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile......

yet.......

 

Could it be that seeing Mary Richards go off on her own 
to live in the big city of Minneapolis

planted a seed in my brain that a girl from suburban NJ

could move to the big city of New York?
(I even had a single girlfriend in the apartment next door --
her name was Linda, not Rhoda).

My cat, Rocky, (before computers ), helping me to decide what day, and what time, the programs should air.

Was I content to be a single career woman 
because Mary showed me it was something to be proud of?
(Yes, I was, until I met Mr. Goo Shoes, that is).

The Saturday Night Guarantee - one of my big ideas.

Did listening to Mary's banter with her boss, Lou Grant,
prepare me to work for a man with a big, bold personality,
whom I adored in a platonic way, much like Mary adored Lou?

The office I had for most of my career.

Was being exposed to a shallow, vain and pompous fictitious anchorman 
handy preparation for the many Ted Baxters I met throughout my career, 
regardless of whether they were on camera or behind the scenes?

My office building in New York City.

These certainly weren't conscious thoughts, 

and I'll never really know if the MTM show really found it's way into my psyche.
I like to think it did. 

The view from my office: Empire State Building and Bryant Park.

 

So, thank you, Mary......

If you hadn't "made it after all,"

who knows if I would have?
 

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One of the very first blog posts I wrote:
 

Reflections Through My Office Window

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