Thank you for being our friends

Picture it. NBC. 1985. Four "mature" women, one kitchen table, countless slices of cheesecake, and a half hour of humorous, often hysterical, parodies.

The Golden Girls trumped prime-time television for seven seasons before retiring its comedic quartet in 1992. Yet, despite the sitcom's finale, followed by the death of three of its stars — Estelle Getty, Bea Arthur, and most recently Rue McClanahan — the syndicated series continues to entertain TV watchers, airing multiple times daily.

Pop-culture received a good whack by the witty, often provocative broads. Perhaps for the first time on television, middle-aged women were tackling taboo topics. Most notably, Southern belle Blanche Devereaux flaunted a frisky, sexual appetite, regaling both her roommates and the show's viewers with her steamy stories of men. Blanche and her co-star's scandalous conduct was excused by their "golden age" – their senior status allowed the aging actresses to say and do just about anything.

And they did.

"Blanche: What do you think of my new dress? Is it me?
Sophia: It's too tight, it's too short and it shows too much cleavage for a woman your age.
Dorothy: Yes, Blanche. It's you."

Sophia Petrillo was the spitfire Sicilian who escaped imprisonment from Shady Pines Retirement Home. Her shrewd-tongue offered a glimpse into the life of an aging 80's stroke survivor.
She filtered nothing.

"Blanche: I have writer's block. It's the worst feeling in the world!
Sophia: Try ten days without a bowel movement sometime."

Sophia's candor, often followed by a Sicilian curse, was tantamount to her quick-witted insults. And although all fell victim to her venom, none suffered as her daughter, Dorothy. A divorced substitute teacher, the 5'9" Dorothy Zbornak towered her "Ma" by nearly a foot, yet still answered to her mother's endearing, "Pussycat."

"Dorothy: Ma told me that once I started shaving I'd never be able to stop. I mean, she said I'd regret it for the rest of my life because my legs would have bristles.
Sophia: I was right! By the time you were 16 I could grate cheese on your knees!"

Whereas Dorothy exhibited a crass sensibility, Rose Nylund was the overly naive, kind-hearted "Golden Girl." Known for her "Back in St. Olaf" stories, Rose tormented her roommates with a sundry of Scandinavian terms and Minnesota tales.

"Rose: [Dorothy is unhappy with her son marrying an older, African-American woman] The same thing happened to the Bigbotters back in St. Olaf. You see Gretchen had this thing for Buddy, but Mr. Bigbotter didn't approve - he did his best to keep them apart. But, one day he came home, early, and found Gretchen and Buddy in... how will I say it... most indelicate situation.
Dorothy: What did he do?
Rose: Well he yelled at them to stop — but they wouldn't so he turned the hose on them!
Blanche: He turned the hose on them?
Rose: Well they were in the front yard!
[Blanche gasps]
Dorothy: Wait - wait - wait a minute, Rose. Buddy and Gretchen — weren't people were they?
Rose: Of course not - they were dogs! Gretchen was a Dalmation and Buddy was a Schnauzer — and Mr. Bigbotter wasn't too happy when he ended up with a litter of Schnalmations!
Blanche: ...You know, Rose, sometimes I wished somebody had turned the hose on your parents."

Although the dim-witted Rose was a catalyst for jabs, she tackled an AIDS scare in one of the series more serious episodes. "The Golden Girls" addressed other difficult issues, including family fueds and estrangement, dementia, organ donation, in-vitro fertilization and homosexuality. The show effectively addressed these issues with a delicate balance of gravity and humor.

Regardless of age, viewers identified with these witty characters. Some of us related to Dorothy's anger, slamming the door on her ex-husband Stan, season after season, while others empathized with Rose, Blanche and Sophia, who had lost their spouses to death. And all of us understood, and continue to understand, the desire for companionship, which these four women discovered in one another at 6151 Richmond St., Miami.

"The Golden Girls" showed its viewers, week after week, that life's hurdles are best combated with friendship, laughter — and cheesecake.

Perhaps most significant, however, "The Golden Girls" entertained a younger generation while demonstrating that although age is accompanied by physical alterations, it doesn't render void one's desire to continue living.

To a sitcom and its four broads, whom I met 20 years ago while a child and understand more fully today as a 30-year-old, I offer my appreciation and admiration, which is sure to only grown as I approach my own golden years. “Thank you for being a friend.”