I have no doubt whatsoever that Thelma Lou and Barney were deeply in love but he had the proverbial cold feet to which many bachelors can attest. I agree wholeheartedly with Thelma Lou ( Janet) and her assessment in msg #9 dated 3/31. Smokey's song, "Tears of a Clown" is just the right way to put it and as always, Barney was trying to save face. I don't however understand why he hadn't written to her after leaving town and perhaps the writers could have added a bit more to explain that one. Possibly they didn't realize we would have the opportunity to view each episode a myriad of times and dissect each as we are now doing. Back then it was one show and maybe a summer rerun and that was about it. Using the same actors as different characters attests to that assumption. Anyhow, their love was deep in my opinion and the writers just plain goofed in not having Thel and Barn tie the knot. I can only assume they left the door open just incase or a return to Mayberry for Don. I wonder. Lydia, my apologies...now I know. Linda _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
