THE GOOD OLD DAYS

I enjoyed The Andy Griffith Show. It is a black & white television show in 1960's. I don't care for the later shows after Don Knotts (Bernie Fife) left and it is in colors. I love the stories, the characters and the lessons behind each episodes.

The setting was in a small town called Mayberry, somewhere in North Carolina, in the United States. Yet, for a Vietnamese American, I appreciate and could really relate to the stories. From the loving relationship between Andy Taylor and his son, Opie. How Andy raised Opie as a single father because his wife died (I am not sure if the show ever explained what happened). To Aunt Bea who took care of Andy and Opie. One of the early episodes was about how Opie learned to love Aunt Bea after he initially rejected her.

To the caring ways Andy and his deputy, Bernie Fife, who happened to be Andy 's cousin, treated each other. They protected each other, tried to save each other's face and made peace after many conflicts. The many girlfriends Andy had, or when Bernie tried to set up blind dates or forced Andy to meet some of the wildest characters such as the Fun Girls.

I love Mayberry - The Andy Griffith Show because it represented a simpler life where people treated each other with respect and decency. Even the town drunk, Otis, was treated with kindness and gentleness. Floyd the barber, Gomer the gas station attendant, Guber (Gomer's cousin) and so many other town people living in harmony and trust. Children don't have to face so many dangers and parents were able to trust other adults to keep an eye on the kids in the neighborhoods.

However, the character I enjoy the most is Ernest T. He was from the mountain, a wild person, illiterate, uncivilized and not yet evolved into a full modern citizen. Ernest T. threw rocks at windows to get people attention when he came into town. One episode where Ernest T. wanted to get an education to court a village girl. Andy tried to help Ernest T. learning georgraphy. Andy explained the boundry of the United States being Canada in the North, Mexico in the South, Atlantic Ocean in the East and Pacific Ocean in the West. Ernest T commented, "I hope they don't change the boundaries when I take the test." I love it, because that is how I feel when unexpected situations threw at me at work or in life. We all learn the rules and what to do or what not to do, but there are times when the rules are changed or people who are in power changed the rules while the rest of us just have to start learning new rules all over each time in order to survive.

Oh, how I wish we could go back to the good old days.