THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 8, 1995 TAG: 9510080128
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: PAUL SOUTH
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
An anniversary escaped the notice of most of a world fixated on the outcome of the ``trial of the century.'' But Oct. 3 is a date worth fond remembrance.
It was on this day in 1960 that ``The Andy Griffith Show'' made its debut on CBS.
Now I will catch grief from the assortment of Trekkies, Brady Bunchers and the like. But in my mind, there has never been a better television show, ever.
I sat down this week to try to figure out why Mayberry is my favorite TV town. And I came to several startling realizations.
First, I am a bit of a hypocrite. I've made fun of folks who obsess about Elvis, the Brady Bunch, and even the soaps.
But Elvis is dead - trust me. The Brady Bunch dresses badly. And as for the soaps, I've often wondered why it is that people in soaps don't seem to have TVs or bathrooms in their houses. And why don't you ever catch Erica with rollers in her hair?
But I digress.
I am a bit obsessive about the folks in Mayberry. First off, the show is funny, touching and genuine. If you grew up in a small town - and many of us did - you remember sitting on the porch after church on Sunday afternoons. With bellies full of fried chicken, Uncle Billy Joe Ray Bob would churn the ice cream freezer, and everybody would just visit.
They did that kind of stuff in Mayberry. They went to church. They ate good food. And, yeah, they talked Southern. You know, with Andy, ``extra'' became ``extry,'' as in ``Aunt Bee, supper was extry good, extry good.''
And who could forget some of those memorable exchanges on the porch like this one between Aunt Bee, Opie and Andy:
Opie: Paw, what'd they do before they had 'fridgerators?
Andy: They had ice boxes. Boy, those were the days. Too bad you missed 'em. I remember hot days like this. Old ice wagon'd come by. Us boys would chase after it, jump on the back of it, snitch a piece of ice. Always a little sawdust sticking to it. Nothin' like the taste of wet sawdust from the back of that wagon. Somethin's gone out of life since then. You know that, Aunt Bee?
Aunt Bee: Uh huh. Typhoid.
Small towns are no doubt full of talks like that. It seems that every village has a guy like Gomer Pyle. Remember Gomer, the garage mechanic who would always tell Opie, ``Gas is 25 cents a ding,'' for each ring of the bell on the old gas pump. ``Water and air is free.''
And no doubt there has been some business executive somewhere, whose car breaks down in a tiny town on a Sunday, and learns firsthand that when you hurry, sometimes you'll miss something. That happened in Mayberry to tycoon Malcolm Tucker in the episode ``Man In A Hurry.''
And maybe we all know someone like Floyd the Barber, or Ernest T. Bass, or Otis Campbell, or The Darlings. Perhaps there's a little bit of Barney Fife in all of us. We all try hard like Barney. And we all make mistakes. We all want to make it big. And we all should have a friend like Andy.
In 16 months on Roanoke Island, I have not had the opportunity to meet its most famous resident, Andy Griffith. But if that chance comes, I won't ask for an autograph or a picture.
After 35 years of laughter and a certain goodness brought by the good people of Mayberry, N.C., and its sheriff, asking anything else would be too much.
But this explains in short order why a part of us wishes we could live in Mayberry for just one day. Consider this exchange between Opie, Barney and Andy. Opie asks his father if they are rich or poor.
Andy: I'd say we're better off than a lot of people. Got a roof over our heads. Aunt Bee - finest food you ever put in your mouth. Barney for a friend. Yeah, in some ways, I'd say we are rich.
Barney: You see Opie, it ain't only the materialistic things in this world that make a person rich. There's love and friendship. That can make a person rich.
That's the reason I love Mayberry. We all want to go to a place where gas is 25 cents a ding. by CNB