Ah, Mary!

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

I recently ordered the complete series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman—partly for nostalgia and fun. The show aired years ago, and it had faded from my memory for a long time. But things about today’s social or political climate triggered a recollection, and suddenly, I found myself remembering how much I had once looked forward to each episode. That spark of recognition led me to seek it out again. Ordering the series is just the first step—I want to revisit what made it so compelling back then and see if it still holds up today.

“Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” was a groundbreaking television series. It redefined the boundaries of satire and soap opera storytelling. It aired from 1976 to 1977. Created by Norman Lear, the show was a darkly comedic, deeply unsettling reflection of American life. It tackled topics that traditional sitcoms and soap operas avoided, like mental illness, consumerism, violence, media sensationalism, and the quiet desperation of suburban existence.

The series resides in a fictional town, Fernwood, OH, where suburban housewife Mary Hartman seeks the kind of domestic perfection promised by Reader’s Digest and TV commercials. Instead, Mary finds herself suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. There are mass murders, low-flying airplanes, and waxy yellow buildup on her kitchen floor.

That show was too controversial for any network at the time. Before long, however, it sparked Lear’s next series, the winning All in the Family. Archie’s and Edith’s dilemmas (similar to Mary’s) led viewers to recognize and appreciate many disconnects between people’s long-held beliefs and the demanding modern “adult” world.

These shows exposed cracks in the American Dream. Mary Hartman had that perfect blend of humor, strangeness, and originality that set it apart. While All in the Family tackled social issues head-on with a more traditional sitcom format, Mary Hartman took a subtler, almost surrealist approach, revealing the absurdity of American life through its deadpan satire.

I hope to find the same layered meanings in it now and if it may feel fresh and bold enough to hold up today.

Dear Friends: Lear was a genius; I expect to find “Mary…” holding up still. Diana

All In

Friday, December 20, 2024

Today is “ugly Christmas sweater day” at work. I’m unprepared because, in the first place, I mistakenly thought this was a day off work for me; in the second place, I wore my only ugly sweater last Friday, mistakenly thinking that was the official ugly sweater day, and wondering why others weren’t wearing noisy sweaters.

My ugly Christmas sweater is from last year’s Christmas selections. It’s a cautious sweater, neither particularly ugly nor attractive, and can sort of fit the bill. Some quick research taught me there is an official Ugly Sweater Day, the third Friday in December.

I searched for how to make my sweater uglier quickly this morning. I’d need a “microstitch gun,” which isn’t handy at home. Somehow, I’ll work this out, and one option would be using my glue gun to attach some of my Cockatoo’s shiny baubles to my not-yet-quite-ugly-enough sweater.

I grew up in a Jewish-oriented family without knowing ugly sweater routines. These days, however, working part-time in a retail store through Christmas has opened up more about this time of year for me.

The weeks leading up to Christmas are becoming tense from timelines for shopping, finding gifts, and selling. Those add up until everybody becomes weary. Ugly Christmas Sweaters are a fun celebration and an unconventional silly letting loose and enjoying the festive season.

Ugly Sweater Day reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously; it lets us express joy with a dose of humor. I will start preparing for next year by ordering a microstitch gun. I will get ready to participate today by taking some baubles from Peaches’ cage and going to look for my glue gun.

Dear Friends: Today, I’ll take photos and salute sweaters with creativity. Diana

Season’s Musing

Thursday, December 12, 2024

I’m nursing sore muscles after my first trip in years to the gym. My poor legs, hips, and shoulders were pushed to work a little harder for a couple of hours. I’ll feel them more today as the muscles move me around, generally nonstop, in my part-time department store job.

This morning’s thin blanket of snow is pretty. All that white has me imagining a Poinsettia on my picture window shelf in the foreground. Now, wishing for seasonal inspiration from a bright Poinsettia, I will bring one home after work.

I wanted to know more about the plant’s significance. I understand now that poinsettias are native to Mexico and have been cultivated there since Aztec times. Aztecs used the plant to decorate and to produce dyes and medicines.

In the 19th century, Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, introduced poinsettias to the United States. He cultivated the plant in his South Carolina greenhouse and shared it with friends and colleagues.

Eventually, creative American growers saw innovative marketing possibilities. By employing the relatively new medium of television, they marketed poinsettias for background-coloring TV’s giant Christmas specials. Eventually, Americans saw the plant’s inherent beauty and associated poinsettias with Christmas, and now as beloved holiday decorations.

Dear Friends: “Random thoughts” don’t rise from nowhere. Diana