Rest in peace, Miss Rue

I'm positive I'm going to get mocked for this, but I was deeply saddened to hear today that Rue McClanahan (of "Golden Girls" fame) died this morning.

Yes, it's probably weird that a Gen-X'er such as myself has seen every episode of the Golden Girls, which originally aired back in the 80's and was a favorite of my grandparents. For some reason, I've always found comfort in watching the old re-runs...Rose would always be getting into some scrape or another through her naive, guileless, trusting behavior; Dorothy would always be snarking about it; Sophia would contribute her usual humorous, Italian-inspired two cents; and Blanche -- Blanche would be floating through a room wearing one of her organza robes and patting her coiffure while offering up some obscure Southernism in her fabulous Georgia accent.

I'm sure you can guess who was my favorite! These girls were the original Sex and the City, weren't they? They showed that dating -- at any age, 30-something or 50-something, and in any city, Manhattan or Miami -- is full of emotional landmines and potential heartbreak, but that at the end of the day, your girlfriends will always be there for you and will share your burdens over cheesecake or cosmopolitans, even if Mr. Big or Mr. Right never does show up. I loved them all, but Rue's performance as Blanche always stole the show, in my opinion. She made growing old(er) look fabulous and even fun! Now that's talent.

Rest in peace, Miss Rue. You will be missed.