Everybody loves Betty

It was serendipity that I watched the awarding of the Medal of Freedom to our surviving WASPS.  These are the women aviators who did most of the ferrying of combat aircraft to the battle zones of WWII. All now in the second half of their eighties, an amazing number are alive and were present.

What an interesting group of women they are and have been, many continuing to fly well past retirement age. Everyone I could catch a glimpse of projected a salty vitality. You just have to love them.  The next time you are in an air museum take a look at how fragile those aluminum and wire airplanes were, then imagine a pin up girl climbing in one and heading out across the ocean.

Betty White, of that age group, is suddenly rediscovered and has become the rage of the entertainment world.  She has even achieved the reputed high honor of being asked to host a late night TV comedy show. And all the entertainment and much of the news media is abuzz with "why we love Betty White."

Mention is made of her penchant for fun, her sexiness and energy.  As a television fan I have known Betty since she and Alan Ludden were romancing on Password and then through her era of situation comedies. Maybe it is just acting (she has done much more than acting), but I don't think so.  The joi de vivre, a reflection of a life of substance has always been there. No defensiveness. What you see is what you get.

I say we love her and those WASPs, not because of what they are today but because they have been that way all their lives.

Salon has a beautiful tribute by Mary Elizabeth Williams  to Betty and her age peer group.  She says; " But guess what, kids? Inside every creaky geezer there's a person who was once quite likely just as lively and oversexed and troublemaking as you are now. The elderly aren't an alien species." See the full article here.

It isn't limited to the female gender. See the recent rage on You Tube.  Talk about joi de vivre, this old guy reminds me of  the hilarity among six year old boys pissing on the wall.