Ever since I was little I watched I Love Lucy and Gilligan's Island in syndication on TV Land. I wished that The Munsters and the Cleaver family lived down the block. I laughed at Janet, Chrissy, and Jack as they got themselves into uncomfortable situations before the eyes of Mr. Roper. None of my friends appreciated the humor of Larry and his two brothers - Darryl and Darryl, let alone knew what I was talking about.
While I grew older and started to plan my future, I hoped for a roommate named Laverne or Shirley and a best friend named Rhoda.
It isn't all about television shows either. My iPod is crammed with songs by The Temptations and Roy Orbinson. I sing along with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and try to hit the high notes with the Jackson 5.
I've written a paper on The Big Chill, and watched The Ghost and Mrs. Muir on a Friday night instead of going out. Every time The Parent Trap (1961) is on, I watch it. And I recently bought Tootsie on DVD.
I remember watching Rear Window, The Birds, and Psycho with my parents and thinking that those were the scariest movies in the world. I was literally afraid to go in the bathroom, for fear that birds were going to come out of the closet.
Jimmy Stewart, Natalie Wood, Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, and Bogey and Bacall are household names for me.
And then I think about what my future children with swoon over. Will they wish they were a part of Friends and Home Improvement? Will they laugh alongside Will Ferrell, or fall in love with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, or scream with Scream and cringe with Saw? Will their ears be full of Britney Spears, The Backstreet Boys, Lady Gaga, and Shania Twain? I can only hope so.