In light of our recent trip to Mayberry along with the JFK assassination anniversary, I was going to write a long profound post full of significance about the good old days and loss of innocence, both personally and in society and America as a whole.
How we now we live in a world where filled with mass shootings, endless war and commercials that tell us to respect and be nice to each other.
In a world where people are being shitty to one another.
Every. Damn. Day.
I know, that's been going on for time on end. It just feels a little personal some times. Too personal.
Instead, I will just post this. It says it better than I ever could:
Some thoughts from a trip to Mayberry (AKA Mt. Airy, NC) last week:
Jack stands in for 'ol Barn
with the Thelma Lou of our memories
Jack loves The Andy Griffith Show, as does his dad. He especially loves Barney and Gomer, names still woven into American television pop culture.
The living cast members have grown scarce, and Thelma Lou is one. Of course, her real name is Betty Lynn, but who would call her that.
She is forever Thelma Lou, Barney’s girl.
The very sweet Thelma Lou of today
As we were entering The Andy Griffith Museum, Thelma Lou had just arrived for her autographing session in a wheelchair. Her handler turned her around and we were the first people she saw. After a few small pleasantries, she said to Jack, “I’m Barney’s girlfriend.”
It was a great moment, which felt almost private.
Thelma Lou, Barney’s girl.
Time moves on, and Thelma Lou doesn't really physically resemble the Thelma Lou of those 26 priceless episodes in which she appeared. Or at least all that much. But she could not have been nicer, and she spent as much time with each person as they wanted. To sign, to pose, to laugh, to reminisce.
I told her how grateful I am for the show, saying that it’s nice to know there is something the whole family can watch.
I will always remember her physically as Barney’s girl.
But I also won’t forget how she, at 87 years old, thrilled Jack with kind words, several autographs and a hug.
Which I think will also stay with him for a long, long time.
"The tears on my pillow bespeak the pain that is in my heart.'
-- Barney Fife, Class Reunion, The Andy Griffith Show - 1963
My kids will never know the innocence portrayed on The Andy Griffith Show.
Maybe it’s rose-colored glasses, but I did know that innocence, at least for a little while.
My hometown in Pennsylvania resembled Mayberry in more than a few ways: our own Barney Fife, Howard Sprague, Miss Clara, the filling station, even Aunt Bee, who lived two doors up the street from us. We even had an Otis Campbell, who was less of a drunk and more of a town oddball. Mayberry had party line and front porch gossip; I heard the same thing, almost every day.
Also, my family sat on the porch for hours at a time, made homemade ice cream, and never dreamed of missing church/Sunday School.
And at least in my mind, those in my hometown exhibited some of the Mayberry values that will forever live in syndication (forever is fitting for one of greatest shows in the history of television.
Take this sterling scene from "Man in a Hurry." Charlotte businessman Malcolm Tucker's car breaks down on a Sunday, and he can't get any help because the Sabbath is a day of rest in Mayberry. Tucker is forced to slow his pace, and this poignant and lovely moment reminds me of similar occasions on our own front porch, with a tune my own father used to sing in church. No singular scene in the history of "The Andy Griffith Show" better illustrates the afore-mentioned Mayberry values.
There are many, many reasons that many are nostalgic when thinking back to the world portrayed on the show; their towns undoubtedly had similarities. It takes many of us back to a faraway, more uncomplicated time with fewer commitments, less danger lurking outside our homes, and freedom from adult complexity and responsibilities.
And loved ones still alive.
It was a life certainly not sophisticated in the minds of many. Mayberry will never be an exotic destination.
I wonder if today’s shows, which I admittedly do not watch much, reflect present-day life and society. But I imagine folks will be nostalgic for those shows in the future as well.
But I wonder if anything will be a welcoming, comforting and endearing as Mayberry.
I suspect not.
Millions of people are saddened by the passing of Andy Griffith because the world portrayed in Mayberry is now just a thing of the past, a fond remembrance if you will.
