I am currently reading an Irish novel called *North Sea Requiem.* A mother who is upset because her son refuses to leave the small town where he was born believes this:
"Margaret McLean believed that everyone was born with wings but only a few knew how to unfurl them, stand on the edge of the precipice and fly - or crash, but to die without trying, that was sad." This mother feared that her son would stay in the small town, get married, raise a family, and die there, and she believed that was so wrong. When I read this it reminded me so much of the conversation that Andy and Sharon Despain had at their class reunion. Sharon could not understand how Andy could be so contented living his entire life in Mayberry. I am so much like Andy in this respect. I have never lived more than an hour and a half away from the little town where I grew up. I have never had any desire to move away to a large exciting bustling city. Over the years I declined several job opportunities which would have taken me to larger cities, but I never had the desire to leave. I think this is a very important underlying theme in most of the TAGS episodes. All the main characters appear to be very happy and contented in their lives. While both Barney and Andy and Thelma Lou did leave Mayberry at one point, when the writers wrote The Return of Mayberry, they decided to have Andy,Helen, Barney, and Thelma Lou all return to their beloved Mayberry. -- 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.wbmutbb.com/
