A Penny For Your Thoughts, By: Nancy Whitaker
If you like watching old television shows, then the TV Channel TVland reruns old shows everyday. One of my all time old favorites is The Andy Griffith Show. The program airs from about 5 pm each day for a few hours almost every evening. When I look at Mayberry, the quaint little town in which The Andy Griffith Show was filmed, I think of how simple their lives looked back then.
You can watch episodes of Andy Griffith over and over and still laugh at each one, at least I do. When the Andy Griffith Show debuted in 1960, Andy just wanted a five year contract, but the show went on until 1968. The show always came on with Andy and his son, Opie, walking down a country lane to the whistling tune of “The Fishin’ Hole.” Griffith recorded the lyrics to the song and it can be viewed on YouTube.
Griffith plays the part of a single father, Andy Taylor, to son, Opie (Ron Howard). The cute little boy on the show has now grown up, lost most of his hair and is a Hollywood producer. In addition to being a father, Andy Taylor was also sheriff of the small 1800 population town of Mayberry.
If you have watched this old show, you will know the Taylor’s had a housekeeper named Aunt Bee. Aunt Bee was played by Frances Bavier and it is said that she and Griffith did not get along. That is amazing to me, because Aunt Bee appears to be a kind, sweet, caring Christian lady in the show. However, she resented her role as Aunt Bee, leaving at the end of the shows run. She held a grudge against Andy and in 1972, Opie and Andy went to pay her a visit at her real home in Siler City, N.C. and she refused to meet with them. In 1989, when stricken with cancer, she let Andy know she regretted not getting along with him. When I watch the show, I still imagine Aunt Bee baking a pie. Aunt Bee died on Dec. 6, 1989.
One favorite hangout in Mayberry was Floyd’s Barbershop. Floyd is usually pictured combing someone’s hair and being a part of the men’s gossip. Floyd suffered a severe stroke and died from the effects of a second stroke. He passed away in 1969 at the age of 63. To me, I still envision him cutting hair and chewing the fat with the guys in Mayberry.
We all know Barney Fife who was played by Don Knotts. It has always been said that Barney only carried one bullet in his back pocket and his citation book underneath his hat. That is true. Knotts went on to star in movies and was a well loved comedian. Don Knotts passed away Feb. 24, 2006, from complications of pneumonia due to lung cancer.
We can’t forget Gomer and Goober Pyle. Gomer was a single man who appeared to be the only employee in Wally’s Gas Station in Mayberry. Gomer was also a great singer and went on to play in different television shows. He died November 30, 2017.
Goober Pyle, another Mayberry resident was viewed as backward and not very bright. This was perhaps best seen on The Andy Griffith Show episode where Goober believed his new dog spoke English, which then filled his head with make-it-rich scenarios. In reality, the “talking dog” was a joke played on Goober by Opie and a friend who hooked a walkie talkie to the dog’s collar, giving voice to the shaggy beast. Goober also reprised his role as Goober on the show Hee Haw. He, too, passed away on May 6, 2012.
Otis Campbell, the town drunk, was a character who visited the local moonshine maker and got inebriated. He would just go to the Mayberry Jail, get the key and lock himself up for the night. Otis died Jan. 28, 1994 at age 77.
So many of the old shows are still around and reruns are watched over and over. It is believed that Mayberry was really based on a town called Mt. Airey, N.C. To me it is just hard to think that most of these character are gone but not forgotten.
Yes, I wanted to move to Mayberry because those times seem so laid back, simple and relaxing. It would be a nice place to visit, but, I really don’t want to live there without Andy, Barney, Aunt Bee, Opie, Floyd, Helen Crump, Otis and Goober and Gomer.
Do you watch Andy Griffith reruns? Have you ever visited Mt. Airey? Would you like to go back to the Mayberry days? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny for Your Thoughts.
