Blog on the Lillypad
Saturday, July 10, 2004
 | A Day in Mayberry
If traffic is good, I live two hours away from Mt. Airy, NC, the home of Andy Griffith and the original basis of Mayberry. On Friday I met two old friends and their two sons, Matthew and Jesse at the Comfort Inn on 601. After a breakfast at the local Biscuitville, we caravanned into the heart of Mt. Airy to see the sites. Of course we got lost at first, and more by accident than on purpose, we drove past the original home of Andy Griffith up on one of the residential streets. |
| Once in the town, we found the Visitor's Center, which includes the museum of Andy Griffith's life. We then set out on foot to find the Snappy Diner (where one of the cooks was frying up pork chops in the window for their famous pork chop sandwiches), and Floyd's Barber Shop (still in business). We saw the city's two 1962 Galaxy squad cars, now used to take visitors on paid tours. |  |
On a grimmer note, we visited Mt. Airy's real local jail (no longer used), and it was not the friendly, well-lit jail depicted in the television series. Matthew and Jesse had a good time posing behind the bars (actually an ironwork lattice that kept the tiny cells pretty dark). But the place gave me the creeps. It's a good thing Barney Fife was on hand to clean up the crime.
everybody we spoke to was friendly. Main Street of Mt. Airy is recognizable (though much changed) as Mayberry's main street, and we stopped in at the hardware store. They had traps there, and the kindly store manager showed us how to set a trap and demonstrated (with a long nail) how they spring shut with instant and deadly strength. I asked what the people trapped, and was told that there are no fur bearing animals worth trapping, but gophers are the bane of the gardeners, and traps are an age-old cure.
We chatted very amiably for a few minutes, and gave and returned the age-old courtesies of saying goodbye and wishing each other a nice day.
I had to get back to work to check in by 3:00, so I bid my friends goodbye at 1:00 to get on the road. But the curse of Highway 52 settled on me in the afternoon, and because of constant traffic jams (owing to a record setting THREE accidents all in one day and all minor), I did not arrive at the office until 4:40, and everybody was gone. I got home by 5:20. So it took me twice as long to get home as it did to go.
Still, it was a great day. I was happy to see my friends and their growing (and highly energetic) sons. And the tour of Mt. Airy reminded my of a sweeter and gentler day, one that existed---if not in real life, at least in the minds and hearts of people who worked to make it so.
