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subscribeI Love Lucy
August 7th, 2011
Tonight I am thinking about Lucille Ball. She would have been 100 years old today. I am thinking about how beloved she was to so many people, myself included.
Growing up I was enthralled with everything “I Love Lucy.” I had posters (my favorite one, Vita-meata-vega-min), a light switch plate, lunch boxes, magnets, biographies, postcards, VHS tapes…everything a dedicated fanatic ought to have in a collection.
One year for my birthday, I received a thick yellow paperback book and on the cover, a television set tuned to “I Love Lucy.” I opened it to find every episode ever recorded mapped out in detail. Title, episode number, recording date, original air date, cast, plot, all of it. Meticulous and overzealous, just my style. That summer, it became my mission to record every “I Love Lucy” episode I watched. My guide was always by my side for close reference, and a notebook too, for my own notes. I took this very seriously, you see. Nick at Nite at 9 and 9:30 every night. For a while, a few different channels played the show in the afternoons too and I’d knock out six episodes in one day. I was a strange child, and just a little bit obsessed.
Years later, I am still drawn to her. She was so much more than the frazzled housewife she portrayed for so many years. She was strong, funny, gorgeous, outspoken, admirable, and maybe, my idol too. I found comfort in watching her dish out her antics in black and white every day. Maybe it had to do with my awkwardness at that age, and I felt a pull to her, the way she was always finding herself in the most awkward situations. Whatever drew my admiration, it has stayed with me since. We named our black and white childhood kitty Lucy. And this year we named our tiny daughter after her – Poppy Lucille Grace.
She will always be a part of me, and I will always love Lucy.
XoXo, Katy
