Last week, after seven successful seasons, “Parks and Recreation” drew the curtains on their hit television series. It is always difficult saying goodbye to a television series whose characters and plot you’ve invested yourself in whole heartedly. As a final farewell to the fictional city of Pawnee, Indiana and its lovable occupants, here’s a list of some things I’ll miss about “Parks and Recreation.”
1. Galentine’s Day
During the second season of “Parks and Recreation,” Leslie Knope introduced us to a new holiday that soon caught on among its fans. This holiday is celebrated on February 13, the day before Valentine’s Day, and is dedicated to promoting female friendship. As Leslie Knope put it, it’s basically “ladies celebrating ladies.” While the television series may have ended, Galentine’s Day, hopefully, does not have to end along with it. We can all honor the spirit of Leslie Knope by taking extra time to appreciate the women in our lives every February 13.
2. Treat Yo Self Day
Alongside Galentine’s Day, Treat Yo Self Day is one of the most important days of the year. It’s a day of luxury, pleasure, and treating yourself to whatever your heart desires. This special day was created by the characters Donna Meagle and Tom Haverford, who celebrated by spending thousands on expensive limousine rides, spa treatments, and name brand clothing. But Treat Yo Self day isn’t limited to these kinds of luxuries. The meaning of treat yo self is to do something for yourself you normally wouldn’t. A perfect example of this is when Ben Wyatt treated himself to an extravagant Batman costume.
3. Burt Macklin and Janet Snakehole
Burt Macklin and Janet Snakehole are Andy Dwyer and April Ludgatge’s alter egos. Andy and April were never a very traditional couple. They were strange, unpredictable, and did a whole lot of role playing. My favorites out of all their role playing characters were Burt Macklin and Janet Snakehole. Macklin was Pawnee’s best FBI agent who was often solving some fantastic case for the mysterious and rich widow, Ms. Snakehole. These two really knew how to keep the romance alive.
4. Jerry, Larry, Terry, or Gary
At the start of the series, we were introduced to Jerry Girgich, who was always the butt of the joke. Later on, his name was changed to Larry. Then it was changed to Terry. Finally, by the last season, he was called by his real name, Gary Girgich. He was an easy target for all of the ridicule, but the thing I found the funniest was that his life was kind of amazing. He had a beautiful wife, equally beautiful daughters, and pretty much one of the most positive outlooks on life. And, spoiler alert, in the last episode we learn that he becomes mayor of Pawnee and lives to be 100! Maybe making fun of him wasn’t so bad considering how awesome his life turned out.
5. Leslie and Ann
And of course, probably the thing I’ll miss the most about the show is the friendship between Leslie Knope and Ann Perkins. The media loves to portray women as catty, backstabbing, and two faced. The relationship between Leslie and Ann was one of the first female friendships that was the equivalent of the male friendships shown on TV, or also known as the “bromance.” “Parks and Recreation” reminded us that women can be genuinely good friends without all of the drama and cattiness. Also, Leslie’s metaphors for Ann were some of the most hilarious things I’d ever heard. Ann, you poetic and noble land mermaid.
Cover photo credit: NBC.com