You get a line, and I'll get a pole, honey!

I have shared many times before in this blog that I am a TV person. I grew up a TV kid, and I am an avid television watcher today. There are a few shows, mostly classic, that I can watch over and over again. The Andy Griffith Show is one of them. The early black and white episodes are the ones I enjoy the most! If you are not familiar with The Andy Griffith Show, it was a show about a fictional town called Mayberry, NC. The show centered around the "sheriff without a gun", Andy Taylor, and his relationship with the citizens of the town. Mayberry was not a dangerous town, hence the "without a gun" part. Andy was there to keep peace. He was smart as a whip, but he would never lord that over anyone. In fact he played the "country bumpkin" quite well when appearing that way served his purpose. The chemistry on screen between him and his deputy, Barney Fife, expertly played by Don Knotts was magic! Mayberry had lots of characters. Some of my favorites? Opie - Andy's son, Otis - the town drunk, Ernest T. Bass - a wild, true to the term hilbilly and who can forget The Darlings? a family that Andy came in contact with when they had booked a hotel room for one, and the whole family of 6 was staying there. I could go on, but the glue that held this eclectic bunch together was Andy. He was always there to impart wisdom to Opie, get Barney out of a jam, scheme against the stingy department store owner to help out his door-to-door salesman friend, do a little pickin' on the porch after dinner or telling a story as only Andy could.

Since the show ran from 1960-1968, and I was 5 when it went off of the air, I am sure I do not remember the shows from their original air dates, but I grew up with the re-runs, and Mayberry became a town that I visited often. Even today when I am channel surfing, if I see Andy Griffith, I'll stop there and watch the episode. Andy Taylor was a lot of things to his viewers, a trusted friend, a friendly face, a loving father, and all because Andy griffith played Sheriff Taylor with such skill and natural ability that we felt like we knew him.

It is a gift when an actor creates a world for his audience that you absolutely feel a part of. I did feel a part of Andy's world, and when I learned this morning that we lost Andy Griffith, I cried because I had lost a friend. My sister said on her Facebook that Andy always seemed immortal to her. It's true. He was one of those iconic characters that you thought would never die. Another friend posted, "R.I.P. Andy Griffith. May you find that fishin' hole in the sky fully stocked." You get a line, and I'll get a pole.