Thanks to Jimmy, the Untrained Voice, and others for their recent contributions with regard to the lengthy, ongoing orations about Andy in later vs.earlier episodes, his attitudes, his disposition, his dubious relationships with women, etc. (What have I forgotten?) I had begun to think we would be psychoanalyzing Andy and listing his faults for the remainder of my days, and had wondered how this persistence fit into our positive image and expressions of Mayberry. However the shows were or were not designed, and whatever good intentions the writers may have had, no one could have foreseen a day 40-some years later when people would be watching and studying every minute, every second, and every nuance of every show, over and over and over again. I'd hate to think what it could be like for someone to have similar snapshots of all aspects of my life and play all of them, good and bad, over and over and over again. Whatever Andy was or wasn't, few of us in real life have done any better. We aspire instead to the ideals, the values, the humor, and the dreams represented in Mayberry. Mayberry is the prototype for wishful hometowns of today and tomorrow. The creators of the show were wise enough to include a touch of real life in that wonderful community, be it Andy's disposition and likely reactions to some of its people and situations, or Barney's sometimes irrationality and impulsive nature. It was all funny. It was all skillfully written. The acting was brilliant. It always taught valuable lessons. And that is not necessarily past-tense. The episodes are still funny, the writing still stands out as superior, the acting is still evidently brilliant, and the shows are still teaching lessons. And like the citizens who walked the streets of prototypical Mayberry, I have made some of my best friends along its streets and in its homes. It is the central reason that has glued me to TAGSRWC for many years. Thank you, fellow citizens and dear friends. Long live Mayberry!
Larry in CO _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
