Jan

15

I Hate the Coloreds

January 15, 2008 | 2 Comments

Yep…you heard right, I hate the coloreds.

In cased you missed it or thought you misread it,

I’ll say it again…

I HATE THE COLOREDS!

What? How can you say such a thing? This is an outrage!

Well, it’s just my opinion and I’m entitled to it, right?

I hate the colored Andy Griffith Shows, it’s a fact.

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I love, I mean L-O-V-E, LOVE, the B&W Andy Griffith Show.

No matter how many times I’ve seen a particular episode I am enthralled each time. I feel like I am there and I really care about those people and what happens to them.

BUT…after the fifth season when they started producing the show in color something happened…something bad.

coloredandy

Yes…you’ve read my mind…Howard Sprauge showed up.

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And with the arrival of his namby pamby
smarty pants attitude the
charm of Mayberry left, in glorious color.
I hate the coloreds. I am not alone.

I have a friend, Kera O’Bryon, she and her husband, Christian, are big fans of B&W Andy too…but they as well can’t stand the color Andys and cringe at the sight of Howard.

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The Andy Griffith Show premiered on CBS in October 1960 when I was five years old. In my memory Andy, Opie, Barney, “Aint” Bee, Gomer, Otis & Floyd have always been there.

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And they are still there…in my dinning room hutch, top and center is Aunt Bee’s Mayberry Cookbook, on the wall of my office is an autographed picture of Andy & Barney.

In my neighborhood when my neighbors Dawn, Danny, Misty or I call out to one another we do so with a loud refrain of, “Hooty….Whoooooooooo”, the call of the Red Crested Web Footed Lake Loon, from the episode Back to Nature when Barney is lost in the woods with Gomer.

I had a friend once who casually said to me, “My pant leg went all Andy Griffith on me.” I knew exactly what she was talking about, if you don’t understand…it’s a boot thing.

I live in the Carolinas, where each fall Mt. Airy, NC (the real inspiration for Mayberry) hosts Mayberry Days and there is a Mayberry Sheriff’s car that patrols around my neighborhood sometimes.

To my delight and good fortune, I have met Don Knotts, Ron Howard, Howard Morris (Ernest T. Bass), Betty Lyn (Thelma Lou), Hal Smith (Otis) and Elinore Donahue (Miss Ellie).

You can spend hours on the web discovering Mayberry information, here’s one of the coolest things I’ve found. The actual outdoor set of Mayberry which was known as Forty Acres40Acres.

Each link will take you to another and another…enjoy.

These characters will live within me for as long as I do and I’m grateful for their hours company, so many laughs and yes a few tears as well.

I love the b&w Andy Griffith Show…But…well, you know the rest.

“But don’t the trees seem nice and full”
Andy Taylor
Opie the Birdman, Episode 101, aired September 30, 1963

www.michaelontheair.com


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2 Comments so far

  1. Sean on January 15, 2008 4:20 pm

    An appropriate title for the blog appearing on the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

  2. Dan Alexander on May 25, 2008 8:50 pm

    I always tried to picture the overhead view of Mayberry. I’m glad i found this.I’ve watched it since it aired and still to this day. The black and whites i do favor.