RIP Rue McClanahan

One of my earliest childhood memories remains watching the "Golden Girls" with my grandmother on Saturday night in her Quincy, Mass., home. And news of Rue McClanahan's death earlier this morning here in New York immediately brought me back to those nights my beloved grandmother and I sat in her den and simply laughed at Blanche, Dorothy, Rose and Sophia's antics.

I have spent the better part of today reminiscing about McClanahan and the "Golden Girls" with friends on instant messenger and Facebook. I joked with a friend earlier this afternoon one of the best ways to pay homage to McClanahan would be to go out and mingle a la Blanche Devereaux. A far more simple (and less risque) tribute, however, seems in order.

Thank you for being a friend Rue...