Pam asked: I was watching the first episode yesterday and I noticed how Barney referred to Andy as his cousin. How are they cousins? Does anyone know? >>>
Andy and Barney are said to be cousins in three early episodes. We are never told exactly how they're related, but we can deduce it from clues in other episodes. For starters, the term "cousin" is used somewhat loosely in some geographic areas, but let us assume they are first cousins. Using standard genealogical rules, this means that one of Andy's parents is a sibling of one of Barney's parents. We know their dads aren't brothers, because then Andy and Barney would have the same last name. We can also deduce that Aunt Bee is the sister of Andy's father, because her last name is Taylor. Now, in various episodes such as Cousin Virgil, Barney talks about "my mother's side of the family," making it clear that Andy doesn't know those folks well, if at all. In other episodes, such as Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau, we learn that Aunt Bee is not Barney's aunt. He just calls her that out of affection, just like Gomer, Thelma Lou, Helen, Goober, and practically everybody in town younger than she does. So, based on all of the above, it seems clear that Barney's father and Andy's mother are brother as sister. At least, that's my theory. Paul "Tibbs" Mulik Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
