Mayberry Archives - A Father of Twin Boys

Close your eyes and listen to the whistling and you’ll be immediately taken back to a time that was simple and easy. A time where Sheriff Andy Taylor would sit on the front porch and talk with his son Opie and I think that we can all agree, that there is something to Mayberry that we all love.

Today at church, the message was entitled “Missing Mayberry” and I think that we can all relate. Our lives are crazy and busy and in someways, out of control. For those that grew up in at a time where The Andy Griffth show, we watched a town with a sheriff and a deputy, a jail that rarely anyone was locked up in and a time where life was simple. No cell phones. No easy access to information and things were just slower. As I was listening this morning to the sermon, I found myself thinking about watching the show, going to Mt. Airy, NC and walking around and reliving my childhood of watching the show.

There is something to be said about slowing down a little. My commute everyday is an hour each way. From 5:30 am Monday through Friday, my phone goes off and I get an evenings worth of emails to trickle through. I get the boys up and fed and 3 days a week, I take the boys to school and also pick them up. On my drive to and from work, I catch up with friends and family. Throughout the day, I’m answering emails, text messages, phone calls, etc. regarding work, when our servers go down, someone’s perceived emergency, etc. And today, while thinking about Mayberry, I longed for those quiet moments.

There is something that can be said for being able to see the stars at night when you walk outside. There is something about quiet times with family and friends. To commute to work in less than 20 minutes right now sounds like a miracle. To be able to let my children walk outside and play and be ok about their safety, is something that I’m missing.

Mayberry was a fictional town based off of Andy Griffth’s hometown of Mt. Airy, NC and being from North Carolina, I was fortunate to visit the town on a few occasions. But it was my last visit, that I took the time to sit down and rest and observe that I really made the connection to the town. And I understand completely whey Andy chose to model the town of Mayberry after Mt. Airy, because it has something that we all want as we grow older, a certain peace to it and a slower time. A friendly place where you felt safe. A place where people spoke to you and time almost stood still.

So as the sermon wrapped up today, I realized what I was longing for, Mayberry!

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.