Good morning, Wednesday. It's bright and sunny in the city and I'm looking forward to wrapping up this week and hitting up the holy land. Going to be amazing.
In other news, I was so sad to hear about Penny Marshall's death yesterday. I thought she was absolutely hilarious and her role as Laverne left a pivotal impression on me as a girl. "Laverne and Shirley" was probably my favorite show on television as a kid, and now that I'm older its value as a true testament to female friendship is not lost on me.
For those who don't know, the show was about two women living in Milwaukee and working at a brewery. They lived in a basement apartment and had many hilarious adventures. Laverne was the loud, somewhat promiscuous sass pot while Shirley (or Shirl) was more of a nervous nelly type who was a bit of a prude but hilariously neurotic and feisty. Unlikely friends? Perhaps. But that's what I loved so much- they were totally different characters but adored each other. And them making their way in the world as middle class, independent women felt real. The show takes place in the 50s (but shot in the 70s and early 80s), and at that time, I'm not sure what the notion of "working women" meant but unmarried women living on their own was probably unheard of. When you fast forward to other shows of our lifetime about female friendship- "Sex and the City" and "Girls", there's some lovely moments but there's plenty of eye rollers where you are pretty certain that nobody who writes for a newspaper can afford that many pairs of Manolos, or that nobody could be more loathsome than any of the characters in "Girls".
Laverne and Shirley were lovable, goofy types with lovable, goofy friends. I'll never forget what they showed me about having each other's backs, accepting each other for who we are and who we are not, and supporting each other as we navigate this thing called life. I even like what many called the jump the shark moment of the show, when the girls moved out to sunny California. Them encountering their first earthquake is one of the funniest episodes of the entire show. Watch it here it still makes me laugh to this day. I love how perfectly these ladies show the wacky hilarity of female friendship. That it's ok to be vulnerable, silly, and most of all, hilarious. That "L" of Laverne's stands not only for her name, but also for love. And I loved every minute of that fantastic era. Their famous theme song noted that they were going to do it their way, and they sure did. And they were absolute comedic geniuses.
Thanks for the memories, Penny Marshall. "Laverne and Shirley" taught me a great deal about the kind of friend I wanted to be.
Cause that's what's up this schlemiel, schlamazel of a Wednesday in the 718. Yours, in best friends and boo boo kitties. XO