I was driving down the road today, and I heard Mara Davis say, "R.I.P., Andy Griffith."
I couldn't believe my ears. Surely, I was hearing this out of context. Since I've given up cable and internet, I've had a harder time staying on top of these kinds of details. I don't even check my phone 24/7 anymore, so I'm not getting email news alerts and Twitter feed chatter as it happens. I've yet to figure out if this is a good or a bad thing, but that's not the point.
The point is that the United States lost a national treasure today.
Like so many other people across our country, it's hard to put into words what The Andy Griffith Show meant to me many years ago and means to me today. It's one of the few things in life that is timeless and constant. As a young child, I begged my parents to let me watch "Andyman," and they obliged, thank God. As I grew older, I secretly loved Braves rain delays because that's what TBS would air when our guys were sitting in the dugout, waiting out the storm. I remember tucking myself away in my bedroom in my first grown-up house in Athens, watching Nick at Nite's various The Andy Griffith Show marathons. I jumped up and down a few weeks ago when I found out a local access channel would be running the program on weekday nights at 7:30 p.m. How rare is it to watch a show and totally lose yourself, forgetting that these aren't real people and this isn't a real town? How rare is it to watch anything and forget that it's coming to you via cameras and Hollywood magic?
The show and its characters have influenced my life in so many ways, right down to my writing. Most of the stories I write take place in small Southern towns with bumbling, folksy and eccentric characters, which stems from a desire to read about such things and usually not being able to find them. While some of that was inspired by my own upbringing, so much of it came from a desire to recreate Andy Griffith's world and to bring the South to life much the way he did through almost everything he created.
Beyond Mayberry, I was a big fan of Griffith's other work. If you have never heard his monologue, What it Was, Was Football, do yourself a favor and find it immediately. If you've never seen the movie A Face in the Crowd, do yourself a favor and see it immediately. And though I've been ridiculed for it, I love to hear him sing and play the guitar. As a big fan of bluegrass and American roots music in general, I learned a little bit about the genre through Griffith, believe it or not.
I could go on about what Andy Griffith means to this country. I could go on about how talented he was and how rare it is to find such a pure, creative mind in today's television and film world. But really, the influence this one man had on the lives of so many people is not something one can bring justice to by trying to sum it up in a few words. To understand it, you have to witness him perform, and thankfully, so many of his performances are there for us to show our children and grandchildren for years to come.
With that I say thank you, Andy Griffith, for the joy and entertainment you've brought me over the last 31 years. Thank you for inspiring my writing in a way few others can. And thank you for sharing your gift with the world so that it will be available forever.
Rest in peace.
I couldn't believe my ears. Surely, I was hearing this out of context. Since I've given up cable and internet, I've had a harder time staying on top of these kinds of details. I don't even check my phone 24/7 anymore, so I'm not getting email news alerts and Twitter feed chatter as it happens. I've yet to figure out if this is a good or a bad thing, but that's not the point.
The point is that the United States lost a national treasure today.
Like so many other people across our country, it's hard to put into words what The Andy Griffith Show meant to me many years ago and means to me today. It's one of the few things in life that is timeless and constant. As a young child, I begged my parents to let me watch "Andyman," and they obliged, thank God. As I grew older, I secretly loved Braves rain delays because that's what TBS would air when our guys were sitting in the dugout, waiting out the storm. I remember tucking myself away in my bedroom in my first grown-up house in Athens, watching Nick at Nite's various The Andy Griffith Show marathons. I jumped up and down a few weeks ago when I found out a local access channel would be running the program on weekday nights at 7:30 p.m. How rare is it to watch a show and totally lose yourself, forgetting that these aren't real people and this isn't a real town? How rare is it to watch anything and forget that it's coming to you via cameras and Hollywood magic?
The show and its characters have influenced my life in so many ways, right down to my writing. Most of the stories I write take place in small Southern towns with bumbling, folksy and eccentric characters, which stems from a desire to read about such things and usually not being able to find them. While some of that was inspired by my own upbringing, so much of it came from a desire to recreate Andy Griffith's world and to bring the South to life much the way he did through almost everything he created.
Beyond Mayberry, I was a big fan of Griffith's other work. If you have never heard his monologue, What it Was, Was Football, do yourself a favor and find it immediately. If you've never seen the movie A Face in the Crowd, do yourself a favor and see it immediately. And though I've been ridiculed for it, I love to hear him sing and play the guitar. As a big fan of bluegrass and American roots music in general, I learned a little bit about the genre through Griffith, believe it or not.
I could go on about what Andy Griffith means to this country. I could go on about how talented he was and how rare it is to find such a pure, creative mind in today's television and film world. But really, the influence this one man had on the lives of so many people is not something one can bring justice to by trying to sum it up in a few words. To understand it, you have to witness him perform, and thankfully, so many of his performances are there for us to show our children and grandchildren for years to come.
With that I say thank you, Andy Griffith, for the joy and entertainment you've brought me over the last 31 years. Thank you for inspiring my writing in a way few others can. And thank you for sharing your gift with the world so that it will be available forever.
Rest in peace.
1 comment:
That was one of my all time favorite shows! He will be missed. Found your site through My Mind Is On Georgia Site. I invite you to visit my blog, about crafting, cooking, and country decorating.
JoAnn
sweetpepperrose.blogspot.com
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