Growing up in a small town, larger than Mayberry, but not by much, I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Andy Griffith. You see, I am from North Carolina and was one of the millions that learned life lessons from Sheriff Andy Taylor. I grew up in a small town, where you said hello to people that you walked past, said yes sir and no ma’am, and you were taught to respect others.

As an adult, I now live in a much larger town than Mayberry. And kids today are told not to speak to others as they walk by, and that it is exceptable to say yeah, instead of yes sir and that respect, well, what is that?  Maybe it was because the town that I grew up in, like Mayberry, was a small town of about 10,000 people? Regardless, the times have changed and maybe not for the better?

Those were and are valuable life lessons that I learned as a child and that have stayed with me today and these are the things that I plan on teaching my boys as well. Even though it has only been a few days after the passing of Andy Griffith, I miss him for the same reason that I miss a friend, because he was always there. He was always on tv, teaching Opie valuable life lessons with a gentle and soft voice. I miss Andy already, for the same reasons that I miss the days of Mayberry.