WEBB CITY, Mo. —
With the passing of Andy Griffith this past week, I feel like I’ve lost an old friend. I grew up watching “The Andy Griffith Show” and can’t remember a time when it wasn’t around.
Television shows come and go, but this one was different. It was smart and funny and poked fun at small-town America while showing all of its virtues as well.
Andy was serious about putting out a quality show each week and he did. The writing was clever and the actors who brought the residents of Mayberry, N.C., to life were top-notch. They made it easy to believe that Sheriff Andy Taylor really did have a deputy named Barney Fife who had a girlfriend named Thelma Lou. Goober really did work down at Wally’s Filling Station, and Floyd really was Mayberry’s one and only barber.
Everyone has their favorite characters like Ernest T. Bass, who liked to come to town and wreak havoc with his bag of rocks. Or the Darlings, who would drive to Mayberry and serenade the townsfolk with homemade mountain music.
We can’t forget Aunt Bee, who was played to perfection by veteran actress Frances Bavier, and Opie Taylor, who was played by little Ronnie Howard. He has since gone on to be one of the greatest movie directors ever, due in no small part to the influence of Andy Griffith himself. I believe that this show is still great after all these years, because quality has staying power.
Andy Griffith cared not only about the show, but also about the families who would be watching it. Thanks, Andy.
Mike Lee
Webb City
Opinion
Your View: Show had staying power
- Opinion
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Our View: ‘Why?’ has no answer
Just hours before, there was breakfast and laughter. There were pictures on the walls and memories in every room.
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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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