Mayberry
was a cozy little town in North Carolina. The High Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) knew every one. He handed out judgments like Solomon, he always got his man like
the Mounties. He was quiet, strong, attracted the ladies and solved all crises
much like 007.
He
had a strong sense of family and obligation to his neighbors, so these are some things I learned from Mayberry.
1.
Never give up. Barney tried and tried to be the macho
deputy and him always landed on his backside with his foot firmly entrenched in
his mouth. He was a great source of amusement to the townspeople; still he was
right back up on his feet by the next show. He persevered .I tried to teach the
same value to my kids. I have been lucky all of us have had periods of
looking at the world from the bottom up and climbed back to the top. Just like
Barney
2.
Be Frugal: Aunt Bee was always looking for bargains
and deals. Clara, her friend always steeled her towards cocky deals that
somehow went astray. Still Aunt Bea fell for it every time. Denise can squeeze
the buffalo right off his mound on the nickel. She shops the ads, clips
coupons, and buys off brands. She goes to the grocery store because she has the
knack of adding items in her head and almost hitting the total on the head. I am forever impulse buying. Denise would never listen to Clara, she would explore it herself.
Always be willing to try new things. Opie wasn't ever afraid to dive in and find new friends, learn new games, as well as accepting the consequence. For instance he killed a mama bird and raised her babies to atone for it. This past weekend, my beloved family decided to go paddle boarding and Kayaking. I love the beach, and I could live there. But, I can’t swim. Even so, we piled in the cars, met Bree and Eric at the Cooper River to try this new sport. It was a warm and muggy Charleston evening. Quite humid because it had been raining that morning. Denise asked me to tag along and take pictures of her falling off the paddle board, as well as pictures of
Eric and Natasha Paddle boarding. |
4.
Families are not perfect. Opie got in
trouble, Aunt Bee felt inadequate, and Andy had women problems, neighbor problems, Barney problems and escaped convicts. Your family
loves you, stands behind you and the ones you run home to for comfort. Families
are also so close together they bicker, snicker and are irritated with one
another July Fourth we all went to fireworks poor Bree had already put in a
full day’s work, Denise was on her 7th day after working 6 12-14
hour days. Everyone had to work Saturday. Tasha was complaining and whining
because she was hot, tired and walking while carry a chair(mind you; it was a portable chair weighed at most 3 ozs canvas and all) was a kin to child
abuse to her, she was just about ready to call the county and complain. After
hours of whine, any one of us would have handed her our phone, (kidding). The
thing is even though we had the perfect recipe for disaster, we tiffed a bit,
and pouted some, became inpatient; the thing I remember most was I spent the
day with my four favorite people in the whole world. Nothing else mattered and
I still feel warm and fuzzy about the whole day. Love conquers all, and I love
my family.
5.
In the end everything will be all right. At the end of
every episode everything was resolved; Mayberry returned to normal, Granted, it doesn't always work that way for us. Life is not tied up in a neat little 30
minute drama that is quickly solved. My grandmother used to say everything has
a season, so it does, it would be nice if our seasons were only a half an hour
every week, or even and hours. I would love to have the problems Andy does. But
of course, that is ridiculous. Life is not like that. Losing a loved one
whether it is a Child, wife, father, husband that season never ends. Losing a
job. Having to choose between rent and groceries. Watching your baby graduate
from high school. Holding your first grandchild, (how can I be a grandmother? When
did my child stop being my baby?) Watching your kids fall in love. Your heart
breaks when their new love hurt them. Mayberry taught me that things happen,
but life goes on. In the end everything will be all right: if it’s not all
right, it’s not the end.
Of course The Andy Griffith show is just a television show from the 50s and 60s. In reality, wouldn't life be great if we all lived in Mayberry? Alas, not possible. But if we can just remember the basic morale and tone of this fiction place...well you know.
1 comment:
I think Mayberry and life can be easily learned from. I like how you compared the two. Great post!!
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