Goodbye Andy

I couldn't let the day go without a farewell post for Andy Griffith.

1926 - 2012

The Andy Griffith Show has been my favorite TV series from the very first time I watched. Perhaps the reason I loved the show was that I grew up in an environment that was similar to Mayberry. As a child, I knew everyone in my neighborhood and they knew me. We lived on a small private lake that was surrounded with summer cottages, many, including ours, had been adapted for year round living. Moms were at home raising children and keeping house, wearing house dresses and aprons. Nice weather would find me playing outdoors, riding my bike in the street or out for a walk around the lake with my mom, brothers and neighbors. On these frequent walks, Moms would gossip, kids would run ahead and chase each other back and babies slept as they were rolled along. The occasional car would have to wait as baby carriages and kids were safely pulled over to line the side of the road.  Everyone waved to the driver as the car crept past, fearing a loose kid would run out into the street. This was my life at the time the Andy Griffith Show was originally made.

 

By the time I was a teenager and we had cable TV, I was happy to find I could watch these shows again. It was then that I developed a true affection for the characters and environment of the show. The underlying theme in every episode was to do what was right. And the one person who tried the hardest to treat everyone with compassion and fairness was Andy. 

The show had such a wonderful cast and many big name guest stars throughout its 8 years.

My favorite episodes are when Andy finds out that he's wrong. It was always a great twist when Andy ends up eating crow. And it was always a treat when Andy played and sang.  

I also enjoy watching Matlock but it never had the fun, charm and warm feeling that was found in Mayberry. The Andy Griffith Show has entertained and influenced me my whole life. It is my yearning for this way of life that keeps me crafting, collecting and loving everything vintage. 

Today I am thankful for those 249 episodes of fun that were made from 1960 to 1968. Let's all whistle along to that famous theme song!