Happy Birthday, Betty White!

Oh, Betty. Words simply cannot express what you mean to me. But on this day, January 17th, 2012, you turn 90, so I feel like I’m obligated to try.

The first memory that I have of you is, of course, as Rose on Golden Girls, and what a magnificent memory it is. My older sister sometimes watched this wonderful block of programming on Lifetime that consisted of alternating between episodes of Golden Girls and Designing Women, and I always used to sneak in and watch them with her. I didn’t understand a lot of what was going on, as five-year-olds aren’t typically extremely aware of menopause jokes, but I knew that, without a doubt, you were always my favorite. Ok, ok, there was a time when it was Dixie Carter, but I always came back to you, Betty, I swear!

One time the social worker came to our house to see how my brother was doing after his latest stay at the juvenile hall, and it was one of the days that I decided that instead of reading books to my stuffed animals or taking my dolls for a wagon ride through the backyard, I wanted to sit four inches away from the television and watch some Golden Girls. My mom tried to get me to go somewhere else, but I was a sassy five-year-old, and I wanted what I wanted. The social worker asked if Golden Girls was appropriate programming for such young children, and my mom got flustered, and then I didn’t get to watch Golden Girls anymore. Though I did still sneak out of my bedroom at night and peek through my sister’s door when she and my brother were watching Nightmare on Elm Street, so who’s the real winner here, social worker?

But this isn’t about the nightmares that I got when I fell asleep in the hallway watching scary movies through cracks in doors. This is about you, Betty. This is about you and all you’ve done in your 90 years on this earth …

What’s your favorite Betty White moment?