R.I.P. Sophia

I could never figure out why I was so in love with a show about 4 old white women living in Miami. All I knew was that they were hilarious and that I hoped to have friends like that in my life.

One of those friends has passed on. Estelle Getty, known to the world as Sophia Petrillo, checked out of Shady Pines for good. I will always remember the episode when she wept over the death of her cross-dressing son, whom she never really knew.

The show was ground-breaking. It showed that one could be over 50, even over 60, and still be funny and vivacious, sexual and even happily slutty. Today, with baby boomers re-defining what it means to be over 60, that notion is not shocking, but in the mid-80s, it was revolutionary.

Thank you for being a friend...