Remembering Andy Griffith

I have been away for a long time.  Traveled to the west coast and enjoyed the view of the Pacific.  Before I start posting again I thought it would be appropriate to honor an icon who just passed away.  Andy Griffith was a life-long Democrat who supported progressive causes.  He will be missed.  I thought that the best way to honor him is to re-post my March 29, 2009 story; "A good dose of Andy Griffith".  Keep the original date in mind as you read the story.  Also, the link in the story to the video no longer works as it has been removed by the originator, Ron Howard.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

A Good Dose of Andy Griffith is What the Doctor Ordered!

I like to watch a lot of 1950, 1960 and 1970 TV shows. I probably catch 3 or 4 reruns of the Andy Griffith show every week. The show last night really "struck a cord" with me. It made me think of more innocent times; a time when neighbors really cared about each other. With today's "toxic mortgage" discussion in the background, this show really drew my attention.

In the episode, a local Mayberry family is going through some tough times and is going to have their mortgage foreclosed by the "Scrooge" like character, Ben Weaver, who owns Weaver's Department Store. Of course, Sheriff Taylor has to serve the papers on this family that is an important part of the community. The family; down on their luck had a few children, not 14 children like "Octomom".

While the community worked on ways to assist the family, Andy was faced with a dilemma. It was his responsibility to serve the foreclosure papers. He was deeply concerned because the Ben Weaver character only wanted to foreclose so he could build a new factory. Andy knew the law and as we all know, had unique ways to walk around it when it involved people. Andy reasoned that the law required the homeowner to have full knowledge of the foreclosure action; therefore, if he stole his friends glasses, he would be unable to read the foreclosure documents. Of course, Andy stole the glasses and the foreclosure action was delayed long enough to find a resolution. That resolution involved shaming the Ben Weaver character into giving the good folks some more time to settle their debt. In the end, the factory took a back seat.

Wow! What a powerful message. People are given a break and can stay in their homes; and, this is more important than the new factory. Whenever I hear political pundits referring to those that have "toxic" mortgages as "losers", I am disgusted by their attitude. Every Mayberry loving American should be disgusted too.

Sheriff Taylor and Aunt Bea didn't consider those people losers. Heck; they didn't consider Otis Cambell to be a loser. Everyone in the community was important. Where have those times gone? We all accepted and loved the message back in the 1960s. Why do we have to listen to the hatred spewed forth on talk radio against some people that have been eaten up in this economy?

I think each and every American needs another good dose of Andy Griffith, Mayberry and the values of true patriots. During the election, I had a nice dose of the old Andy Griffith and the, now old, Ron Howard. If you want to see how these men have responded to today's politics during the election of 2008, follow the link (click here).

I'll continue to watch the Andy Griffith Show to regain my balance from today's "talking heads" that don't know what they are saying. By the way, Andy did return his friend's glasses. We all should have the vision of Sheriff Taylor.

tomtoak