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Message: [QUOTE="VAMike23, post: 2011318, member: 150"] I feel sad and even a bit sorry for the younger generation(s) today because they don't know first-hand why MTM was so important, not just in our popular culture but in (IMHO) our American culture writ large. She really set the table for many who followed her lead. For that, I think she's undersold. If it's odd to feel sorry for those who don't feel a sense of loss in their bones today then maybe it's because I know they also can't call up the memories of just how great this woman was or how inspirational and ground-breaking she was for so many. I was young in the 70s but my whole family watched her show and I understood at the time what it represented. One of my college English professors was fond of the old adage, "Show, don't tell." I have to think that through the portrayals of her (truly priceless) TV characters, MTM actually had more of a lasting impact on people than any activist or writer of her time--by showing rather than telling. She really moved the dial, and by more than just a little bit. She was vulnerable yet strong; grounded and humble, yet ebullient (that smile...come on!). She was classy--even iconically so--while still remaining completely and utterly 'real' and identifiable to millions, seemingly without pretense. And she made her craft look easy. Another legend lost, but what a legacy. [/QUOTE]