Remembering Andy

The great actor Andy Griffith passed away this week.  I grew up with The Andy Griffith Show.  When you grew up in North Carolina in the 1960's and 70's, Mayberry was just part of your life.  I remember seeing the show in black and white in its original run.  I remember watching reruns every day after school.  Andy, Opie, Barney, Aunt Bee, Gomer, Goober and the gang were part of my life.  The show reflected small town life in NC.  People were good neighbors.  They went to church.  They took care of each other.  There was no doubt in my mind that Aunt Bee was the best cook ever, and that Opie was the coolest kid.  I knew where Mount Pilot (Pilot Mountain) was, and I knew that Mayberry was really Mount Airy. It was all very real.  And at the heart of it all was Sheriff Andy Taylor.

Andy was not just the law, he was the town's problem solver.  When people had a dispute over who owned the most chickens, Andy was the referee.  When couples squabbled, Andy helped them through it.  When Opie needed his dad Andy was always there.  He took care of the local fools, of which there were many , starting with Barney and Gomer.  But there was also Otis Campbell, the town drunk, who Andy knew just how to handle.  There was Earnest T. Bass, the local lunatic, who Andy somehow kept under control- most of the time! Andy kept Mayberry free of crime, and he did it in his own, laid back manner. He never carried a gun. He never needed one. Andy, and the show, was all about respect.

The show intruded on my real life in a number of ways over the years.  Andy himself was a distant relative of my bet friend, Steve Semmler.  My great grandmother lived in the same neighborhood in Siler City as did Frances Bavier, the actress who had played Aunt Bee.  In college I dated a girl from Mt. Airy for a time and we often drove by the Mayberry Mall.  At Springfield Friends Meeting my dear friend Lewis Farlow did great impressions of Gomer and Floyd the Barber that always cracked me up. And day after day, year after year I watched the reruns and remembered how simple life could be if people just took care of each other.

There was much more to Andy Griffith, of course, than that one series.  He sang gospel music.  He was Matlock. He was in movies.  He did hilarious radio bits like What It Was Was Football.  But for me, and millions of others, he was always Sheriff Taylor.  His passing leaves a huge hole in our lives.  How huge?  To quote his best friend Barney...  "It's big, Anj!  Huge!  Big ain't the word for it!!!"  The cartoon at the top says it all.  There is a cast party still going on in heaven. And if heaven turns out to be a little like Mayberry...well, we could do a lot worse.  Thanks for the memories, Andy.  Now whistle along with me everyone, and let's go fishing.

Because of Jesus,