A wonderful memory. The first time I heard of the show, I was 16 and the father of a girl I was dating asked me if I'd watched it. I hadn't. I started watching shortly thereafter, the relationship with Anne ended not long after but my relationship with Archie endured. Life is funny that way. But, in those days, I was Meathead, believing in every liberal cause, comfortable, cocky just knowing how right I was and all of us were. Norman Lear created it, wrote most of the screenplays, often nearly coming to blows with Carol O'Connor over this or that detail.

Lear went on to produce many other sitcoms, O'Connor to other acting gigs. Jean Stapleton played Edith ("Dingbat") Sally Struthers played Gloria (Archie's little girl) and Rob Reiner played Michael (Meathead), Archie's live-in son-in-law. He still plays the same role today, just in real life.

When I went away to college in 1972, my roommate was a NYC cop's son, Irish as the day is long and as cynical as anyone I know today. I called home and said my roommate is Archie Bunker. It was the first time I ever heard anyone refer to Ted Kennedy as "that f___ing murderer. " "The Jefferson's was spun off "AITF" as was "One Day at a Time. " "Golden Girls" materialized a few year later. There were others but I can't recall. It could be less than comfortable viewing, depending on who you were watching with, but always entertaining. America learned that most of their issues and problems were pretty common. Doesn't seem groundbreaking today, but it was at the time.