alee_grrl | Ring in the New Year with laughter

Growing up I was madly in love with archives, libraries and PBS because they allowed me access to history and media I couldn't find anywhere else. If I had only had current magazines and modern for-profit broadcast media it might have taken me a lot longer to figure out that beauty is more than surface perfection. As it is, it still took me a long time (and like most other people I still struggle with the concept) to figure it out. I was recently reminded of the power of archives and PBS to show us things as they are in other places, or as they were in our country. I was watching a comedy special on PBS a while back and they showed a clip of Jackie "Moms" Mabley, a brilliantly funny woman who wore her age with sass and flare. In between guffaws I noticed that she had no teeth. I was a surprised, since I can't imagine television would show anyone without their dentures, unless they were playing up a certain stereotype. In the clip I saw her lack of teeth wasn't exaggerated, I could only tell because I have a lot of experience in seeing people without their teeth. Considering my dad's had dentures my whole life (he's had them since he was 18), and I've personally had dentures since I was 25 (I inherited the no enamel gene apparently). I have a hard time just wandering around my house without my teeth in (gods, what if someone stops by). Here was a woman who had no problem being on screen without her teeth--a hint of embarrassment and a whole lot of sass. It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. I suddenly had a new hero, and a reminder that laughter and humor brings out the beauty in us all. Thanks to the internet (where we can all be archivists!) I was able to find some priceless clips (first one is full video, the others are audio over still images) of Ms. Mabley. What better way to start out the new year than with a good laugh?