Most people can point to a person or a select few who have served as mentors for them. Someone who held a flashlight illuminating the unknown path ahead. And I suspect most interacted with their mentors.
In my younger days, I turned to fictional mentors for guidance. Although characters in books have influenced me, when I was a fledgling, the mentors who showed me how a person moved through life were from TV sitcoms. How weird is that?
First came Mary Stone, when I was a tween. I watched how the actress Shelley Fabares portrayed a high school girl on The Donna Reed Show. She was pretty, smart, and yet didn’t always know how to act around others. I sure understood that part. Of course, Donna was there to guide her through teen problems. Watching Mary, I thought this is how a teenager tackles the world.
Next came Ann Marie, a.k.a. That Girl, played by Marlo Thomas, a single gal with many odd jobs while she awaited her big break in acting. My jobs during my college years and summers weren’t so odd: at a snack bar, school cafeteria, history professor’s office, amusement park, library, college dorm, burial insurance company. Nothing out of the ordinary, but Ann Marie had problems that single gals like me could identify with. She dreamed big, and she kept working toward that goal.
Then there was Mary Richards. Mary Tyler Moore had her own apartment, as did I, in my post-college single working years. She went on dates, had friends over for bad dinner parties, made work friends and frenemies. She was sometimes lonely, and she wanted more out of life than work to pay the bills, but she made the best life she could. And always with a smile. She taught me you can face any problem and get through it.
Knowing I was quite naïve back then and thanks to the internet now, I recently watched an episode of each of my three mentor shows to see if they would stand the test of time. Acting was more exaggerated then than now, so that was a big difference. The writing wasn’t as fast paced, with more Pinter Pauses. The story problems were normal slice-of-life troubles. The shows wouldn’t hold the attention of today’s youth. There were no bedroom scenes or f-bombs.
I hope you’ve had real life mentors, but if you also took courage from a fictional character, whether from books or film, let me know. I’d like to think I’m not the only weird duck in the pond.
PS: I can’t not mention the world’s loss of Dolly, a much-loved soul. Of course, I never met her, but I felt I knew her because she didn’t shy from talking about her background and her struggles for success and her gratitude to those who helped her along the way. She radiated down-home friendliness, a lightning quick wit, and unbridled joy. Her songwriting was top-notch because she captured emotions. I mourn her passing.
