BettysAttic.com Blog: Back To Mayberry

Monday, October 27, 2008

Back To Mayberry

A friend of mine is a dyed-in-the wool "Andy Griffith Show" fan. So much so that she's a member of an Internet club dedicated to watching and discussing re-runs of the classic sit-com. I'm not as devoted as she is, but I loved watching it, too. We certainly weren't alone! With 249 episodes to its credit, the show ran for eight full seasons between 1960-1968.

Some of my favorite moments were those quiet Southern evenings when Andy would play his guitar while a gently smiling Aunt Bee knitted in her rocking chair and Opie sat on the porch steps singing along with his dad. I love this calendar because, even though they're not on the porch, this picture reminds me of those moments. My friend brought over her newest piece of Mayberry memorabilia the other night: the Mayberry-Opoly game. We had a lot of fun revisiting Mayberry landmarks like the Taylor house and Emmett's Fix-It Shop. I chose the cell key as my token, but it didn't help me when I got cited for jaywalking! The game has all kinds of fun Mayberry twists. You might become a temporary Deputy Sherrif or win a blue ribbon for your homemade pickles. Or you might end up in the dreaded Cell #2...

Both my friend and I loved all the residents of Mayberry, but our favorite was the frantic, comically inept and utterly adorable Deputy Sherrif Barney Fife. AKA "Fast Gun Fife" always cracked me up with his handling of that pistol of his. The one bullet that Andy made him carry in his pocket somehow always ended up in his gun, which he would then accidentally fire at the most embarrassing times--like in the middle of a gun safety lecture. And you always knew if Barney went into one of the jail cells, there was a high probability he would lock himself in. He was an alarmist, a dupe, a gossip and as high-strung as they come, but everyone in Mayberry loved him anyway. After our Mayberry-Opoly game (she won), I decided to get this Barney Fife Litho for my friend for Christmas. It has a classic picture of the deputy, a few little-known Fife facts and a picture of Don Knotts, Andy Griffith and Jim Nabors on the set. She'll love it. While I was at it, I had to have a piece of Mayberry for myself, so I picked up the Barney Fife Security T-shirt. Every time I wear it, I hear Andy's exasperated voice saying, "Awwww...Barn!"

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