Once Upon a Time, There Were Three Little Girls…and I was their Bosley

When I was a kid I would get very excited when I would hear the words: Once Upon a Time, there Were Three Little Girls… that went to the Police Academy. It took me a few years to understand exactly all the reasons why I was so excited, but at first, it was simply because there was a really cool TV show coming on that was action packed and like nothing, I had ever seen before.  Of course, only a few of you reading this will remember the next line was… “and they were each assigned very hazardous duty. ”  The disembodied voice character (who we never see throughout the life of the series) that talks in that opening’s name was Charlie and he was describing, rather sarcastically, how these three lovely and more-than-capable young ladies were “playing at,” mostly low-level, police and detective work far below their true capabilities and talents, before he “took them away from all that.”

The rich, supposedly handsome, international man of mystery plucked them away from directing traffic and “meter maiding” to a life of international, intrigue and top-tier detective work. While it is true that the show exploited the sex appeal of these three incredible women, like just about every TV show then or now, (and as I hinted at earlier, I am only human and that was not lost on my younger or older self) ironically, it persists precisely because of that, the point is often lost that Charlie saw infinite potential in them and wanted to see them soar.

I was no Charlie as a kid and I am certainly no Charlie as an adult.  I’ve always been much more of a Bosley really… and whether you are old enough to think of this photo when you think of Charlie Angels…

or this one…

…you have a pretty firm grasp on the topic of who “your angels” are.  Like I said, I am more of a Bosely and I am also confused because I resonate with the top picture but the “home version” of my angels used to look like this…

and now they look a bit more like this…

Even as I write this blog it is their birthday.  Yes, all of their birthdays, they are triplets and they still look like angels to me. We didn’t have all the fancy toys and distractions when we were growing up that many kids, even some of the least financially sound ones do nowadays.  I remember going from playing with the rabbit ears on the TV to try to get Charlies Angels to come in clearly one minute, to playing Charlie’s Angels with my sisters the next.  We had an old manual typewriter and we would put that on the desk in my room and that would immediately become the Angels’ office and I would transform into Bosley.

I can’t recall all the fights over who got to be which angel, but I know they happened. I can’t remember the plot lines of any of our scenarios, but I will always remember being Bosley to these angels.  I will always remember pretending to talk on walkie-talkies and taking down bad guys, but what I remember most of all is that we were a team and that they, like those angels, had something in them that looked a lot like strength and sharp wits even when they were very young.

If you had a time machine, and I am so glad you don’t, you would see that my Bosley of old, when he wasn’t playing nicely, could be mean to these sisters.  I guess all of us siblings can be mean to each other? I would say hurtful things and we would fight like cats and dogs. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t done so much of that, and I wish I would have built them up more when we were younger. I wish I would have said more encouraging things and helped them know, what they know now, that they can be strong and independent and survive impossible to survive things.

Our childhood wasn’t all Charlie’s Angels and Bosley to be sure! We rallied around each other when times were tough.  I call them my war buddies because we’ve seen and been through some scary stuff together.  One day, I will write more about all the ways my sisters have triumphed over adversity, but that story is waiting for another time and perhaps a series of stories, when I can share a great deal more about each of them. Individually, they have in turn, and more than once, overcome so much and I am beyond proud of who they are and how they show up in the world today.

Although I am not a Charlie and only a Bosley, I can see when someone has the potential to grow from obscurity to the heights of whatever they apply themselves too.  (maybe Bosley was the one who went out and recruited the Angels anyway?) My sisters are such people. I guess I have always known that but I had a terrible way of showing it until we all grew up.  They are all moms now.  One’s a grandma! One does not need a time machine to see all they have accomplished and all that they are.  Anyone can take a look at the lives they have created, the beautiful and talented children and grandchildren they have raised,  and the brother they have loved and supported and know.

I love you angels, Happy Birthday! Bosley