A Gold Velvet Couch, a Red Wig, and a Trip Down Memory Lane

Old Memories, New Adventure

Last night, I found myself dancing on Sunset Pier in Key West, surrounded by a glorious sea of flowing caftans, bright red wigs, enormous costume jewelry, and enough polyester to make the 1970s proud. Wade and I had joined the Mrs. Roper Romp, a celebration of one of television's most wonderfully outrageous landladies, Helen Roper from Three's Company. I couldn't help but laugh at hundreds of grown adults dressed like a character whose greatest fashion commitment made her, and now all of us, look like we’re wearing small, patterned tents.

Somewhere between the dancing and the laughter, we started reminiscing. About Three's Company, the television shows we grew up watching, the characters, the catchphrases, and those theme songs that occupy permanent real estate in our brains, even when we can't remember why we walked into the kitchen.

Suddenly, I was a little girl again, sitting on a gold crushed velvet couch, waiting for Miss Piggy.

A Gold Velvet Couch and a Very Important Date with Miss Piggy

One of my earliest television memories is The Muppet Show. It aired after my bedtime, but once a week, my parents made an exception. I got to stay up late and watch Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, the fabulous Miss Piggy, and whatever special guest was joining the chaos that evening.

I can still picture that gloriously 1970s crushed velvet gold couch. I remember the excitement of knowing bedtime rules had been temporarily suspended, the anticipation of seeing what Miss Piggy would do next, and the special feeling of being included in something with my parents that normally belonged to the grown-ups.

At that age, I probably thought the greatest gift was staying up past my bedtime. Looking back, the real gift was the ritual itself. An evening when we gathered together, laughed at the same ridiculous puppets, and shared something that felt special because it wasn't an everyday occurrence. Sometimes there was popcorn!

I couldn't tell you which guest stars appeared or what Miss Piggy was up to. But decades later, I can still see that couch and remember exactly how it felt to be sitting there.

I've come to believe that nostalgia is less about wanting to return to the past and more about revisiting a feeling. The comfort of belonging. The excitement of being included. The warmth of sitting beside someone who made an ordinary evening feel extraordinary. We may forget the plotlines, but we remember the people who shared them with us. And sometimes, the things that seemed so small become the memories we treasure most.

When a Theme Song Becomes a Time Machine

Certain sounds can transport us through decades in an instant. The opening notes of a television theme song. A commercial jingle we haven't heard in forty years. The voice of a character we once welcomed into our living rooms every Thursday night.

We don't just remember the shows. We remember the world around them.

Maybe you watched The Love Boat and Fantasy Island every Saturday night, or The Wonderful World of Disney on Sundays. Perhaps your household revolved around Happy Days, MASH*, or The Carol Burnett Show. Maybe you’re among the many Cosby Show fans who are crushed by a TV Dad’s fall from grace. And if you're of a certain generation, there's a good chance you can still sing every word of The Brady Bunch theme song.

We remember where we sat, who was beside us, and sometimes even what dinner smelled like. We remember rushing through homework, arguing over the television, or being allowed to stay up just a little later.

The television show was the entertainment. But the ritual surrounding it was often the memory.

The Beauty of Having to Wait

There was something special about television before streaming. We had a handful of channels, a printed TV Guide, and absolutely no control over when our favorite shows aired. Before homes got VCRs if you missed an episode, you missed it! No pause button, no streaming service waiting patiently for your return, and certainly no binge-watching an entire season over a rainy weekend.

We waited. And because we waited, watching became an occasion.

We hurried through dinner, claimed our favorite spots on the couch, and gathered with the people who mattered to us. The anticipation was part of the experience, and the shared laughter became part of our family stories.

I'm not suggesting we trade our streaming subscriptions for rabbit-ear antennas or return arguing who has to get up to turn a knob to change a channel. Some progress is worth keeping. But I do wonder whether all that convenience has cost us a little of the magic of anticipation.

When everything is available whenever we want it, how often do we make an occasion out of something as simple as watching television together?

Nostalgia Is More Than Looking Back

Nostalgia connects us not only to our own past but to one another. A familiar theme song can open the door to stories we haven't told in years. Strangers compare childhood memories, friends laugh about forgotten fashions, and generations discover what they have in common.

That's what I loved about the Mrs. Roper Romp. We weren't simply dressing up as a television character from nearly fifty years ago. We were taking something familiar from our childhood living rooms and turning it into an entirely new experience.

The memories we made years ago became the inspiration for the memories we made last night. Nostalgia didn't keep us stuck in the past. It gave us another reason to celebrate the present.

Today's Ordinary Moments Are Tomorrow's Nostalgia

I doubt my parents gave much thought to the lifelong memory they were creating when they let me stay up late for The Muppet Show. They weren't planning some elaborate childhood experience. They were simply making room for a little joy, and making me feel special in the process.

It makes me wonder how many memories we're creating for the people we love today will become their gold velvet couch stories someday. The Saturday morning cartoons under a shared blanket. The family that gathers weekly for a favorite comedy. The grandparent introducing a new generation to the shows they loved.

We don't always get to choose which moments become someone's favorite memories. But we can choose to create more opportunities for those moments to happen.

And we don't have to wait for a themed party to revisit what once brought us joy. Host an old-fashioned television night with your childhood favorites. Make the snacks your family used to eat. Invite friends to dress as their favorite characters. Introduce someone younger to the shows that shaped your childhood, and prepare for their disbelief that we once considered those special effects cutting-edge technology.

Or simply ask someone you love what television looked like in their childhood home. What did they watch? Who watched with them? You might discover a family tradition you've never heard about or a funny story that's been waiting decades to be told.

Sometimes the smallest questions open the biggest doors.

Old Memories, New Adventures

Nearly fifty years after sitting on that gold crushed velvet couch watching Miss Piggy, I found myself dancing on a pier in Key West surrounded by a sea of Mrs. Ropers. Different television show, different cast of characters, less fur but more polyester. But the same wonderful feeling of being part of something special.

Someday, perhaps we'll hear that familiar Three's Company theme song again and remember not only Jack, Janet, Chrissy, and Mrs. Roper, but also a warm October evening in Key West, dancing on a pier surrounded by hundreds of gloriously ridiculous caftans.

That's the beautiful thing about memories. They don't have to live in separate chapters of our lives. Sometimes the old ones become the foundation for entirely new stories.

Your challenge, Merrymakers: What television show takes you straight back to your childhood living room? Who watched it with you? Did your family have a special ritual, a favorite snack, or a rule that got bent just for that show?

Tell me about your gold velvet couch memory. And maybe this week, bring back an old favorite and invite someone to share it with you.

Because sometimes the best way to honor an old memory is to make a new one.

Mrs Roper Romp, Key West, October 2026

A fun walk down memory lane. Just add caftans.