๐ช๐ฒ'๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต. ๐ง๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ก๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ โ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ ๐'๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ ๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ถ๐บ.
I never met him (one
of those people I always wished I could share a conversation with), but from afar, I thought he was brilliant. And from a humanitarian way, he always reminded me of my gramps, Julius Gerber, who would have been somewhere around Mr. Learโs age (101) if he was alive now.
As I consider this question, particularly at a time when I have been on such an introspective journey to โ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ ๐ฌ ๐ช๐๐ฌโ, I must go back to being a young girl in Brooklyn, New York in the early 70s โ the same time Norman Learโs masterpiece came out, All in the Family. It was such a formative time in my life โ a little girl running around the streets with ruffles, playing with my friends that came in all shapes & sizes & skin colors, religions and family backgrounds โ I myself coming from a half Jewish & half Catholic family, whisked off to live on Crete where my Dad was stationed for the first year of my life, and then back to Brooklyn. We didnโt have much as far as material things back then. But we had a lot of love to give and to share.
๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฒ & ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐๐ป๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ & ๐๐น๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ โ ๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด (๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ). The writing was brilliant and presented humanity through the perspectives of the working-class Bunker family in Queens, and even a couple of neighbors who eventually โmoved on up to the (Upper) East Sideโ, all with varying opinions and lenses out of which they saw the world, but, able to communicate and care about one another.
I remember Normal Lear saying, โif it encouraged people to talkโ, that was his purpose. And he did. Norman Lear brought us many perspectives through his character development and his work โ from All in the Family to The Jeffersons to Maude to Sanford & Son to The Facts of Life and One Day at a Time, to countless othersโฆ. and certainly, GenXers
like me, & Boomers can reflect on all of these and the many others in a heartfelt way.
Normal Lear was a risk taker always willing to step out on the cliffโs edge in favor of creating a mutual understanding across humans. I guess I do know why I connect with that. But Iโll leave this post as a tribute to him.
Thank you Mr. Lear for your grace & humanity, & for giving us an opportunity to consider so many different lenses on the world.
And PS: because of you I can do a MEAN Edith Bunker rendition of Those Were the Days
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