Part of our pastor's sermon this past Sunday was all about contentment. It really got me thinking of our beloved Mayberry and how contentment was a reoccurring theme on many episodes. I always enjoyed the conversation between Andy and Sharon out in the garden at their class reunion. Andy was so content with his life. He really found what he wanted right there in his own small home town. One of my favorite color episodes was when Martha Clark encouraged Emmett to close the Fix It shop and take the insurance job with her brother Ben Meechum. It didn't take long for Emmett to discover how much he loved his work as a fix it man and how he had no desire to earn a lot of money and climb up the social ladder. Aunt Bee gave up all her expensive prizes when she learned that having a lot of nice things didn't really make a person any happier; rather sometimes it made one less happy. I could name a lot more episodes, but I think you get my point. Most of the good folks of Mayberry were quite content with their simple lives in a small town. I have always thought one of the saddest episodes was when Andy went to Raleigh to visit Barney, only to discover that Barney's life there certainly was not that great. I often think about all that Barney gave up when he left Mayberry just so he could be someone more important in a big city. I never really liked the Return to Mayberry Movie very much as I thought the plot about a monster in the lake was really a bit silly. But once again, both Andy and Barney returned to Mayberry which probably was the only place where they were both truly happy.
-- Ken Anderson The Mayberry Guru 2906 May Street Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54701 www.themayberryguru.com www.mayberryreflections.com _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
