Who turned the world on with a smile

That would be Mary Tyler Moore.  The sad news has come through that she passed away today at age 80.  As a youngster, I remember watching her on our large, wooden console television.  The hat toss into the air seemed strange against all the chaos and turmoil in the world.

I had no idea she’d been on television before. Her first show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, was before my time.

In later years I came to realize just how revolutionary The Mary Tyler Moore Show was.  A single woman pursuing a career?  In journalism? A crowd of men (all talented to be sure) playing second fiddle?  Today it seems like pittance.  But back then, in the early 70s? No graphic string of vulgarities by Samantha Bee or Chelsea Handler comes anywhere close.

Maybe that’s why they have to resort to such behavior, language and attitudes.  I don’t know.

I just know Mary Tyler Moore was part of the cultural fabric of the time, and was as much a part of my country as apple pie and baseball.  God grant her and her family peace, strength and a portion of the blessings that she brought to her millions of fans.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let  perpetual light shine upon her.