There are many reasons why I enjoy TAGS so much – the simple and unpretentious people who live there, the quietness that enfolds the town once the sun goes down, the safety and innocence that abounds everywhere within Mayberry. But perhaps the most compelling reason for loving TAGS is that nothing changes. No matter when and where I am when I tune in to TAGS I know that everything I love will still be there -unlike the town where I grew up.
Several weeks ago I once again went back to my home town to attend the funeral of a high school classmate. As I usually do when I go home, I spent time driving around town looking for places that were so special to me when I was a boy living there. However, just about every one of those memorable places is now gone. The school I attended has been razed. The pond where we fished and ice skated has long since been filled in and covered with buildings. Every single shop on Main Street is gone with only an empty lot as evidence that they once existed. The few that remain have been converted to apartments. The four garages that repaired cars and sold gas are all gone, replaced by a convenient store a mile out of town. The water tower that we all climbed at one point is also gone as are some of the homes where my childhood friends once lived. Nowhere is there the sound of children playing on a school playground and there is absolutely no place for a child to go for a bottle of pop or an ice cream cone on the way home from school. This will be my 71st Christmas, and I always thought that when I retired I would go back to my hometown to live and spend a few Christmas seasons there. But now I know that will never happen. I think it would just be too sad for me live there and not being able to see any of the special places that once were such an important part of my young life. So I am going to continue to live where I am and I am going to continue to watch TAGS every single day. For I know that everything I want to see will be there and every one of those wonderful simple folks of Mayberry will be there for me to enjoy. -- 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/
