Mayberry’s Magnum Opus?
While it would, indeed, be more than a bit difficult to choose a favorite episode of “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Man in a Hurry” surfaces again and again. The episode wastes no time in focusing on something golden about rural America: the importance of taking a break from the travails of daily life, relaxing, enjoying time with friends, sharing a meal, and recognizing the beauty in every human being and every gifted moment.
Perhaps the episode that best defines the attraction to rural living is one that appears in the final season of the show, “Howard’s New Life,” when he decides to leave Mayberry for an island on the Caribbean. It doesn’t take long for him to discover that the grass is not always greener on the other side. He returns to Mayberry with a newfound appreciation for all things simple and certain, yet knowing that there will always be challenges to meet and overcome, not to be belabored and become tiresome.
As political strife continues to run rampant throughout the world, it would serve us all well to revisit the highest rated episode in the history of the series, “Barney Hosts a Summit Meeting,” where major decisions are reached by world leaders, not in an elaborate setting that Barney had hoped to provide, but amid the warm welcome that always emanated from the living room, the small kitchen, and the austere accommodations found at the Taylor’s house in Mayberry.
Part of what made and continues to make episodes from “The Andy Griffith Show” timeless rests on the shoulders of its belief that we can bring out the best in each other, whether a lesson is being imparted by Opie, Andy, Aunt Bee, or Barney. What was most relevant was that the lesson was received and practiced. It never had to be re-learned. Somehow, its staying power was relentless. And that made all the difference and will continue to do so.
James Earl Jones, a timeless talent himself, once said, “I think the extent to which I have any balance at all, any mental balance, is because of being a farm kid and being raised in those isolated rural areas.” The line-up of confident winks from the characters of “The Andy Griffith Show” is as certain, bright as a shining star in the night sky.
Kathleen M. Jacobs writes books for young readers, was the Runner-up Best Author of West Virginia in for 2020, and lives in Charleston, West Virginia.