There it is, my “secret vice” besides just loving to read good old, hold-in-your-hand newspapers, I love to watch those corny “Andy Griffth Show” reruns.
Call it a silly weakness, but I really get a kick out of the old Mayberry gang. And, by the way, I even enjoy the mid- to late-60s episodes after Don Knotts left. Many “purists” among fans won’t consider post-Knotts episodes the “real” show. (I do, however, draw the line at anything with Ken Berry or “Mayberry R.F.D.” associated with it. Ugh.)
Of course, my family will tell you I’m an absolute sap for ANYTHING nostalgic. From television shows to the old hassock setting in front of our old sofa, I enjoy the “old ways” most of all. Well, okay, I have no dislike for more modern furniture — I have no budget for it, either, so that works out about right!
Speaking of “old ways”: Don Knotts and many of the others associated with the best of “Andy Griffith Show” times are gone on now. With Griffith himself hovering in his mid-80s now, I suppose it’s only a matter of time until he, too, is gone. With that, a true American icon will be gone.
But we’ll think “happy thoughts” of longer life for old Andy, as well as Jim Arness and other aging stars of that early era of television.