Stories running in the wake of the Tuesday death of Andy Griffith quote the TV icon as saying he wasn’t as wise as Sheriff Andy Taylor or near as nice.
“But, I guess you could say I created Andy Taylor,” he said.
“Andy Taylor’s the best part of my mind. The best part of me,” he said in the interview in 2007.
Today, we thank the sheriff of the fictional Mayberry, a small town where rules could be broken for the greater good, where neighbors forgave each other and where doors didn’t have to be locked.
Said to be modeled on Griffith’s own hometown of Mount Airy, Mayberry remains synonymous with the best parts of living in a small town. And while we realize that Mayberry was never real, we all know an Aunt Bee or a Floyd the barber. Griffith’s popular TV show, which aired from 1960 to 1968, never actually went away. It continues on in reruns to this day.
And, bits of Mayberry exist today because we are fortunate enough to live in an area where there are still fishin’ holes, Saturday night sings, front porches and occasionally, the forgiving lawman.
Should we daydream about a place that Hollywood concocted?
Absolutely.
Let’s not forget the best parts of the place we came from or ever forsake the notion that there are still good, decent folks who live next door.
We say goodbye to Griffith, but hang on a little longer to the place called Mayberry.
Opinion
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Discussion
Our View: Hail to thee, Mayberry
- Opinion
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Our View: Absent from House
We can’t figure out why two Missouri legislators think they should be elected to the U.S. House when it appears they can’t seem to show up to take care of business in the Missouri House.
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Your View: Terrorism is terrorism
In the May 13 issue of The Joplin Globe there was an Associated Press article concerning the New Orleans shooting.
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Your View: Should we be outraged?
Were there effusive apologies following the lockdown of Boston as most of the continent indulged vicariously in the ongoing manhunt?
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Your View: Terrible injustice
I see this Jasper County nuisance law as a terrible injustice on the rights of the residents of Jasper County.
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Other Views: Conflicts in SEC
Money talks. In the continuing dispute over the all-too-cozy relationship between the people who create and sell financial products and the people who rate their risk, the money says: Shut up and let us do what we want.
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Phill Brooks, columnist: Missouri Senate did what Founding Fathers had in mind
George Washington once described the Senate as being like a saucer in which you pour coffee or tea.
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Our View: Fixing failure
Some 1,200 injured workers will finally get the payments they are owed. In its final week in session, Missouri’s General Assembly, through bipartisan efforts, passed a solution to address the insolvency of the state’s Second Injury Fund.
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Herb B. Kuhn, guest columnist: Delaying Medicaid reform could hurt rural Missouri
The Missouri Legislature missed a rare opportunity in the just-ended session to transform Medicaid and make a real difference in the lives and health of hundreds of thousands of our neighbors. Rural Missouri has the most to lose from the legislature’s failure to act.
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Kevin Wilson, guest columnist: When fear wins out, so do the terrorists
I’m going to make a bold statement that’s sure to draw a lot of comments, but hear me out before reaching for the keyboard to type a rebuttal.
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Marta Mossburg, columnist: Maybe government is tyrannical after all
Less than two weeks ago President Obama stood in front of graduates from The Ohio State University and told them to reject those who warn of government tyranny.
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