Why We Love Rose Nylund

Betty White has gotten a lot of press in the last few months after her hilarious appearance in the Super Bowl "Snickers" commercial, which subsequently led to a grass-roots push to have her host an upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live.

I have to admit that although it was remarkably uncool to do so, I enjoyed watching the Golden Girls. There was something both wholesome and hilarious about watching four geriatric women navigating through life's little foibles. For those of you who are either too young to appreciate the series or were too cool to do so, the Golden Girls was basically a sitcom where three older single women, Rose (Betty White), Blanche (Rue McLanahan), Dorothy (Bea Arthur) and her really-old mother Sophia (Estelle Getty) live together in Miami and get into all sorts of adventures, dealing with romance, sickness, problem children, gambling problems as well as the gratuitous "very special episodes".

I suspect that one reason why we love Betty White, Rose Nyund, and the Golden Girls because it gives us a picture of hope that we, too, will age gracefully and happily - that growing older needs not be a harbinger for misery, depression and loneliness. We look at these characters and see humor and joy, and whether the Hollywood depiction is completely accruate or not, it provides a pleasant contrast to the sad trauma or seeing a grandparent or elderly friend or relative withering away in a nursing home largely abandoned by others.

For many of us who are "middle-aged", it's still a challenge to come to grips that we too (God-willing, actually) will grow old and before soon, we'll find ourselves in a different season where some physical activities and even mental activities might be more challenging. It's scary for sure, but we have some decent role models with our friends on syndication.