Teams And Famous Women

To kick off the new approach this magazine is taking, I was given a list of famous women and teams in history with which to write about. For the most part, they have been influential to either the trucking industry or to women in general. And while you might not feel as though you can relate to all of them, perhaps you can appreciate the impact they have had on our society as a whole.

Burt Reynolds and Sally Field made the trucking industry a popular subject in 'Smokey And The Bandit'. Anyone who is semi-conscious (no pun intended) will remember the way they impacted future generations and created a ripple effect across the nations psyche. Who doesn't remember that movie? It became a cult classic along with the TV show 'BJ And The Bear', and changed forever the way the masses viewed the trucking industry. Because of The Bandit, everyone knew how much fun could a person could have in a big truck. I wonder how many people came out here expecting to have as much fun as those guys did? I also have to wonder who decided we were all having too much fun and put the brakes on the party. It had to be someone very powerful. Maybe it was a political candidate with absolutely no sense of humor and nothing to lose.

In all honesty, I've been driving for just over ten years and I haven't even seen anyone having that much fun, let alone having any of it myself. Those guys sure did make it look good, didn't they?

The more I think about it, the more I have to admit that nobody could have done that movie better than Reynolds and Fields. Burt was as cool as he could be. And Sally brought a great deal of playfulness to the roll. Between the two of them, they made the picture worth watching again and again. Of course, in all fairness, Jerry Reed and his sidekick Fred, gave Oscar worthy performances, though I wouldn't expect anyone working for the 'Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences' to agree. Those of us who represent the trucking industry have become convenient scapegoats to the media and the entertainment industry. But that's a whole other issue.

Clint Eastwood and Clyde: I can't really say that I'm an Eastwood fan. I never really got into the Dirty Harry series or any of his numerous westerns for that matter. In fact, I tend to shy away from even watching T.V. To be perfectly honest, most of the programming that is available today insults my intelligence. I know that makes me sound anally retentive, but what can I say in my own defense other than this; television has never really been an important part of my life. Perhaps this is why I became a writer. It's a relatively inexpensive way to keep my mind occupied. I have never learned to fully appreciate the machismo quality expressed so well in westerns and crime dramas. Machismo being defined as a strong sense of masculine pride. An exaggerated masculinity or exhilarating sense of power or strength.

I am drawn more to the emotional roll and toss of the average 'chick flick' with it's sweeping musical score and it's rating defined by the number of tissues you go through during it's viewing.

In an effort to be fair to Clint Eastwood, I will admit to seeing the movie 'Bridges Of Madison County'. Not because it was an Eastwood flick, but more because it was written by one of my favorite authors, Robert James Waller. That was an outstanding movie for those of you who haven't seen it. But I digress.

Betty Boop, was an animated cartoon character which enjoyed an incredible amount of popularity from 1930 through 1939. Generations ahead of her time, Betty Boop's entertainment worth stood on it's own completely independent of a dominating male figure. The earliest feminist in character fiction, she became an icon for women in the 30's. A self professed flapper known for her independence and self sufficiency, Betty set a standard for women which is still being emulated today.

Having a voluptuous figure, she wore an extremely short red dress and a garter on her left thigh. Very risqué. Her hair style short and spit curls became a fad. Her short hair became extremely popular in an era where women were expected to conform to the normal and accepted standards. It would be an understatement to say that Betty Boop really stirred things up in her day.

Another female entertainer who was known for her sexy image was Marilyn Monroe. She was also quite independent and self sufficient. Marilyn capitalized on her strength as a star with sex appeal and used it to get where she wanted to go. She also create quite a controversy when she sang for President John F. Kennedy. Her unique rendition of happy birthday was quite a hit.

The scene in which she stood on the grating above the subway tunnel is perhaps the most memorable image of the star in recorded history. The way her skirt blew up around her while she attempted to hold it down is a unforgettable portrait of the stars appeal. Years later people are still impersonating her in videos and movies and singing tributes to her such as Elton John's 'A Candle In The Wind'.

But Marilyn had personal problems that the world had a hard time dealing with and the way the press hounded her ultimately let to the stars early demise. Was she too sensitive for all the attention paid to her? Who can say really. But this much is well known, a star that burns brightly will eventually consume itself by the very flame it needs in order to shine. A great deal of speculation and conjecture surrounded her death caused by clandestine whispers of a conspiracy. Whether her death was accidental or deliberate, there is no question as to how brightly her star burned before it's untimely extinguishment.

Archie and Edith Bunker: If there was any one person who made me decide to be a nonconformist, it was Archie Bunker. I have never found anything redeemable in Archie but then I never really looked. I perceived Archie to be a man who only understood the way things used to be. He was comfortable in his little world and had trouble adjusting to all the changes going on around him.

If I ever really watched the show, it was because of Sally Struthers. She was one of those super cool women. She was intelligent yet sensitive to the needs of others and as a young and somewhat impressionable teenager, I could appreciate those qualities.

Edith was quite honestly more of a woman than I will ever be. I think she only played dumb so as not to make Archie feel inferior. To me, Edith symbolized an era when women did as they were instructed to without argument or complaint. She was an obedient wife and mother and settled for Archie for reasons completely unknown to me. As far as I'm concerned, he was lucky to have her.

'All In The Family' was very popular for a long time. The show not only offered viewers a glimpse of how life had once been, but also the impact of how the changing times effected us. This became in essence, the show itself. The Vietnam war was a turning point and it damaged the core of our nations psyche. It seems to me that most folks went their own way after the war. Innocence was gone and the general consensus became, what's in it for me? Once we as a nation lost it's innocence, it was gone for good and nothing had ever been the same since.

Eleanor Roosevelt became without exception one of the greatest women in our nations political history. Having lost her mother and father before the age of ten, Eleanor was sent to boarding school in London England. It was under the guidance of the head mistress, Madame Suvestre, that Eleanor developed a sensitivity for those less fortunate than herself. This awareness fostered in her a desire to be a champion of those who had no voice.

After returning to the United States, she met and later married a distant cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Eleanor introduced Franklin to the situations of impoverished people, and together, they fought side by side to improve the lives of the poor, the uneducated and the unemployed. She became an outspoken advocate for the suffrage movement, fighting for a woman's right to vote and to work outside of the home. She campaigned for those causes which defended the equality of the poor and upheld the rights of minorities. She forcefully opposed those who prevented adequate housing and widespread employment.

When Franklin Roosevelt was stricken with polio, Eleanor took to the campaigned trail in her husbands behalf and continued to work in his place. With her help, Franklin served as President from 1932 to 1945, becoming one of the most beloved presidents of all time.
Even though Eleanor made her mark in history, it was not without great controversy or hardship. There were many who opposed her political power as the wife of a President. It was said in 1920, that Eleanor Roosevelt was as important to the presidency, as Franklin himself. After Eleanor Roosevelt's work, the role of the first lady was forever redefined.

Laverne And Shirley, were the comedic queens of Milwaukee. Originally a part of the Happy Days crew, they grew in popularity until the network gave them their own show. They, just like millions of viewers, were independent and head strong young women on their own for the first time. The show parlayed their everyday scenarios with humor and taught us how to laugh at ourselves. Their loyalty to one another as friends was amazing given the outrageous amount of trouble they managed to get into.

I loved the show and when they had their reunion recently, I was fortunate enough to have been home to watch it. That reunion brought back some incredibly fond memories and yes, I even cried at the end. Things were so different back then or perhaps it is only the way I remember them as being. Back then, I was so innocent. I had no idea of what was to come and didn't yet have that cynicism that I sometimes see in myself now.

For a magical moment, while watching the Laverne and Shirley reunion, I was once again that little girl with her whole life ahead of her. I hadn't experienced any of the pain or disappointment in life and all things were still possible.

Sometimes all of us need that glimpse to remind ourselves that the person we have become is still somehow connected to the person we once were.

Julie Fricker