What a great experience to be at Mayberry in the Midwest in Danville Indiana this past weekend. Danville has always been known as home to the Mayberry Cafe. The home cooking there does Aunt Bee proud and draws people from all over Indiana and beyond, but what a surprise it was to this Indiana native that the spirit of Mayberry could burst out of those Cafe doors and envelope the whole town of Danville in Mayberry Spirit! The one squad car that is always out front was turned into over a dozen Mayberry vintage squad cars lining to whole block on both sides of the street. How appropriate it wass that in the center of town, right across the street from the Cafe is a Mayberry-esqe Courthouse. All around the courthouse square are little shops reminiscent of Mayberry including a quaint little theatre just like downtown Mayberry (showing the Andy Griffith Show all weekend!!) . Now there are a few Neil Bentley type lawyers also. But how appropriate that one of them is Howard and Lawson. Just a few blocks away is Lawson auctioneering..great Mayberry names. The downtown was a festival of crafts, goodies, music and fun. Danville was also bursting with Volunteers. Local poeple were dedicated to making this a memorable event, and they were all over, caring for all teh details and assisting visotor with Mayberry Spiirt. As I walked around town just in awe of the Mayberry that had been created there, I saw smapp crowds of people. What's going on? I wondered. Is there a deputy writing a ticket to someone? Is there a lady pulling a coaster wagon full of meat? It someone selling Indian Exlixar? It was better. there were the Mayberry Tribute artists, handing out autographs and posing for photos. with the locat attendees. People were just drawn to them insects to honey. Goober and Gomer, I spotted first, and then I heard the recognizable voice of David Browning, the Mayberry Deputy,,and then I saw our own Floyd and Howard. THye were trying to walk a few blocks to teh start of the parade, but it was difficult because they were in such demand! People simply would not let them go. I had seen a few tribute artists before, but this was a phenomenah that I had never experienced. Briscoe, Ernest T Bass, Otis, Aunt Bee and even Henry Bennett and the others has a magnetism that I cannot Explain. I've often wondered when Visiting Disney World, why we clamor for characters that you know are just cast memeber dressed in a costume,, but something about that resmblance draws out the kid in all of us, the make-believe comes alive, and we put away the adult skeptical- analytical self, and just have fun (continued). _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
