I am sorry to note the passing of another fellow North Carolinian, Andy Griffith, a man who was widely and rightly beloved, particularly for his performance as Sheriff Andy Taylor on the Andy Griffith show.
North Carolinians were and are proud of Andy Griffith and his body of work. To give you an idea, the Carolina Hurricanes NHL Hockey team, based in Raleigh, was in the 2002 Stanley Cup finals against the Detroit Red Wings. Yes, a North Carolina team in the Stanley Cup finals is incongruous and a Detroit sportswriter referred to Raleigh as that time as Mayberry. Were we insulted? Hell, no. We were quite proud of the reference. T-shirts were printed. Of course, Raleigh is not a tiny town but we're quite happy to embrace Mayberry values and so is the rest of the state. Who wouldn't be? We're proud that the show was set in the fictional town of Mayberry, NC. Andy Griffith's home town of Mount Airy, NC (which, incidentally is near the geographic feature of Pilot Mountain -- does the name Mount Pilot ring a bell?) especially embraces its association with Mayberry. By the way, although the Hurricanes lost in the Stanley Cup finals in 2002, they won the Stanley Cup in 2006.
6 comments:
One can only wish this country were more like Mayberry.
For those of us old enough to remember Andy before the show, his comedy actually had a bit of an edge. Note his scary performance in "A Face in the Crowd" which envisioned Glenn Beck a few decades before his time. Also listen to his football monologue, which is still played occasionally on the radio. He wasn't the naive hick he portrayed on the show.
My father is from Bakersville, NC, and we used to visit his parents every Summer, and it was like Mayberry. You didn't worry about locking your car or leaving your house unlocked. I'm sure it has changed some since I was a child, but from what I remember, I would gladly live there over Baltimore, MD.
I have removed some comments that might have been fine elsewhere but which are tasteless in response to this post.
CTH
Thanks for doing that Charles.
Contrary to some public perceptions, Andy Griffith was an intelligent man, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He had heart and soul, as well. We will miss him.
Post a Comment