A few weeks ago, I discovered that Channel 23 in Chicago broadcasts the long since cancelled TV show, One Day At A Time.

Growing up, this show was a favorite of mine. I was thrilled to find it back on TV, and I've begun taping it and watching it in the evenings. It is amazing. This show has only been off the air 20 years, yet, television, no, society as a whole has changed so much in this time, the show can truly be considered a cultural artifact. Here is a list of things that were generally accepted as "normal" for that period of time, which are no longer tolerated today:

1. A woman has to be pretty gutsy to be a single mother on purpose. Leaving her man with two teenaged daughters and a fat alimony check is a risky deal.
2. It is wrong for a woman to opt to be without a partner.
3. It is o.k. to characterize all Italians as loud, tempermental and opinionated.
4. Women with big breasts are stupid.
5. The banker and the jewler are Jewish.
6. The debate about whether to kiss a boy on the first date. These days, according to TV anyhow, the real debate is whether to have sex on the third or fourth date (see Friends).
7. Women should be married before they are 25. Single women live at home until they get married.
8. It is a novel idea for a woman to go to college if she is married. That it is not her job to be the only provider of finances, food gathering and preparation, and laundry while her husband is in college.
9. Wearing legwarmers over jeans, outside of the dance studio is ok.
10. Eating steak three times a day is necessary for good health.
11. Fashioning the hair to large, shelacked wings looks beautiful.
12. The more eye makeup, the better.
13. Nothing comes between me and my Calvins.
14. Over acting in a sitcom is a good thing.
15. Smoking isn't sooo bad for you...

The list goes on, but those are the most obvious things I've picked up in just three weeks of daily viewing. Mostly, I think this show was about social change -a theme no longer prevalent in today's television. It was about women moving forward and achieving equality with men. It is about freedom and making the best choices with limited resources.

Goodness, you HAVE come a long way, baby!