I believe you are a sign of the times, although not one with which I am particularly comfortable.

We are losing our icons. It was so easy to build common values and a common set of knowledge from which to identify with one another, to create jokes, to kill time around the water cooler, when we only had six or seven channels to choose from.

If I were going in for a Ph.D. in U.S. history, which I’m not, I would venture to say that we are going to experience a period where we lose our sense of normalcy at the beginning of the 21st century.

sense of normalcy? that went out in the 1980’s if not earlier. every time a show goes off the air there is a big hubbub about how it ends. does any one remember when MASH went off the air? that was a big deal, and cheers? same thing! the end of any show that represents it’s time is always either poignant or disappointing. i won’t even discuss the end of the “new bob newhart show” in the 1980’s. people were REALLY upset about how that one ended! *spoiler alert!!!** he wakes up with his wife from the previous show he did and realizes it was all just a dream! ahh, those were the days!

j.j.