Lori asked about Opie's name. On one of my two visits to Mt. Airy, I was priviledged to visit with Russell Hyatt (both visits) and once with Andy's real-life cousin Virginia Gilly. They both shared that Andy liked to name characters on the show after folks back home, just his way of saying "Hey." Hence, Emmett (named after his good friend Emmett Forest - whom I also met my first visit there - what a great guy!) Opie was a teacher of Andy's - I can't remember what he instructed, but Andy obviously greatly respected him if he named his SON "Opie."
I LOVE TAGS so much I named my orange tabby cat "Opie." My Opie is going to be 18 this summer, and we've had a great time together. He's been with me my entire adult life (That's longer than many marriages last!) I hope he lives forever -just like TAGS! Hope this helps with the origins of OPIE! JB _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
