12 of Betty White’s Best Lines on the ‘Golden Girls’ as Rose

You wouldn’t expect a TV sitcom about the lives of four older women sharing a home to be entertaining to a group of young college girls. But, back in the day, when I was in college and living in the dorms, my roommates and I adored it.

If we’d had a particularly rough week, we found comfort in gathering together on someone’s bed while snacking on ritz crackers and Cheez Whiz and watching reruns of the Golden Girls.

The show would not have been the same without the sweet and funny Rose. Betty White was expert at delivering deadpan lines with a cheerful naivety that had you rooting for her side.

Sadly, Betty died just weeks before her 100th birthday on January 17. Her agent reported she died peacefully in her sleep due to natural causes.

Betty White's first well-known role was as the aggressive, man-chasing Sue Ann Nivens on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, but she came onto my radar as the loveable Rose. Rose may have appeared dim-witted, on the show, but she was anything but.

In honor of the talented and very much missed Betty White, here is a list of my favorite Rose lines from the “Golden Girls”.

1. Rose’s deep affection for animals

“When I was a child, I used to get overexcited and pet the cat too hard.”

2. Wisdom from Rose

“You know what they say: you can lead a herring to water, but you have to walk really fast or he’ll die.”

3. Rose and her rebellious streak

“Oh, you bet I am! I eat raw cookie dough. And occasionally, I run through the sprinklers and don’t wear a bathing cap. And at Christmas, I’ve been known to put away more than one eggnog.”

4. Another example of Rose’s love for animals

“It’s time I gave something back to the chicken community. A chicken once saved my life.”

5. Rose’s opinion on aging

“My mother always used to say: ‘The older you get, the better you get, unless you’re a banana.’”

6. Rose’s advice on charging through your fears

“Oh, there is nothing like skydiving. I mean, soaring through the air, the freedom of it, the whole idea of plummeting toward a pasture and watching a cow get bigger and bigger.”

7. Rose on how to treat the elderly

“We not only took care of our old people, we revered them, honored them, put them on a pedestal. ‘Course, that’s how we got to be the broken hip capital of the Midwest.”

8. Rose’s difficulty relaxing when she tried meditation

“I keep worrying that I left my car windows down.”

9. Rose knew sometimes there are days when you need to just lie in bed and eat processed cheese

“I feel like crawling under the covers and eating Velveeta right out of the box.”

10. Rose knew you should appreciate what you have in life

"Boy, if I wasn't going, I'd really be jealous of me."

11. Rose appreciated the curiosities of life

"I don't understand how a thermos keeps things both hot and cold."

12. Rose’s opinion on the underrated and overlooked Midwest

“Maybe we don’t have French boutiques and valet parking and facelifts for Christmas vacation, but we have friends and family and a sense of community and caring, and that’s pretty special.”

*****

Rest in peace, Betty White. You will be missed.

*****

Sources: Screenrant, MentalFloss, IMDB

A previous version of this story was published originally on Medium.

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