Sitting and Staring–The Andy Griffith Show-Mayberry and What Really Matters

By | |
Voiced by Amazon Polly

I was having a snack and watching TV when my 10 year old niece walked into the room and blurted out, “Wow! You ARE old. You’re watching black and white TV!” I glanced up at her and then back to the TV and exclaimed, “You’ve never watched Andy of Mayberry! She said, “Who?” I said, “Andy Griffith, from the Andy Griffith Show. You know with Barney the deputy who only carried one bullet in his pocket and Aunt Bee the loving relative and Otis the town drunk who who’d lock himself up in jail when he had too much to drink.” She said, ‘No way Uncle Steve.” I retorted, “Everyone should see these shows, they’re classics!” She walked out of the room shaking her head.

The Andy Griffith Show ran from 1960 to 1968 and was off the charts successful. After the popular show ended many of its actors became famous in other Hollywood endeavors. One example is that of the cute little boy in the show, Opie, turned into the famous movie producer and director, Ron Howard.

Episodes are still played on reruns throughout the world. They’re still fantastic and are full of morality, deep down humor, and a calming simplicity that to this day, still rocks.

But, would The Andy Griffith Show, in color, make it in 2017? Would a show with no sex and lots of touching moral talks between Andy Griffith and his son, Opie, (Ron Howard) and story lines of people being their simple, goofy and bumbling selves, sell? Would the sheer simplicity of a group of townsfolk being un-cool and simply getting by in life and enjoying the simplicity of life make it in 2017? Some people say, absolutely not. They say that without in-your-face sex, violence, selfishness, and ‘coolness’ it would never sell. Too corny. Too nice. Too unreal, they say.

Maybe they’re right that it wouldn’t make it in 2017. Is that good? Is that bad? I tuned into The Andy Griffith Show yesterday and heard Andy telling a bunch of guys at the local barbershop that he missed sittin and starin. The town mayor said, “Yeah, me too Andy, I miss it too.” Someone else asked, “What’s sittin and starin?” Andy said, “It’s just sitting and starin. Like sitting on a porch and staring, maybe with a friend or a loved one. It’s not talkin much, just sittin and starin.” “Starin at what” his friend asked. “The moon, the stars, nothing, just sittin and satrin!” Someone else sighed and said, “Yeah, sittin and starin, nice!”

I like sittin and starin. I’ve tried it a time or two. I did it on my own, with no help from The Andy Griffith Show. Sometimes I calmly stare at my aquarium. Sometimes my yard. Sometimes while on my deck, I stare at my hands while calmly and simply glancing to the grass and to the sky. It doesn’t last long through. I soon grab my Smart Phone and surf. I post on Facebook or Twitter or do some texting. Then I glance at the news and see the crazy political climate all around and all the shooting and killing going on all over the place.  It seems when I stop sittin and starin I also stop teally getting to know me and perhaps the friends and loved ones in my life as well.

I miss sittin and starin. I have to work on doing some more of it. My guess is that most of us could use a bit more of it too. Most people probably have no clue what it is and what it can do for them, and that’s kind of sad. It’s a cool way of connecting with the world. The great Andy Griffith Show reminded me of its validity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_xFuWmdhLk

Steve’s latest book: http://tinyurl.com/zcbkkyy

Steve Kovacs
Follow Steve
Latest posts by Steve Kovacs (see all)
Tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
Steve Kovacs

About Steve Kovacs

Steve's the bestselling author of 'Protect Your Kids! The Simple Keys to Children's Safety and Survival'. He's written many articles on a wide variety of topics and has three published books. Steve's a three-time survivor of violence in his youth, a former police supervisor and a graduate of The Police Executive Leadership College (PELC) and was also an award winning part-time college Criminal Justice instructor. For several years, Steve did written and radio political and current event commentary and was the former host of the long running 'The Kovacs Perspective' Internet radio and TV talk show. Steve presently owns a small businesses in Ohio--The Mayfield Academy of Self-Defense.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Recent Articles Posted

    • The Teacher from the Past—A True Story 
      My business partner texted me one afternoon while he was doing some paperwork at our business, The Mayfield Academy of Self-Defense. Dan wrote, “A little old lady stopped in at the school and said she knew you.” I texted back asking if she had left her name. “Mrs. Gronick.”  “Mrs. Gronick, ...
    • How To Survive and Safely Enjoy Hiking in the Woods
      Every year people disappear in the woods without much of a trace. Most get lost or sustain an immobilizing injury. Many of these people are either not found in time to survive their injuries or in some cases, they’re simply never found, even after extensive searches.  Of course, in certain areas, ...
    • Winter in America—Thin Blue Line and Do Something
      Winter in America is sometimes unbearable but fortunately, most of us will hunker down in the warmth, comfort, and safety of our homes. But not everyone. Especially not the people experiencing the nightmares I’ll mention here. In the United States, about 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys ...
    • The Simple Best Thing You Can Do To Not Become A Victim
      The mother of a murdered girl said, “It’s easy for people to say she should have slept with pepper spray under her pillows or taken other security precautions, but people don’t do those things unless they’ve been victims.”    It's a fact that people don’t take regular security precautions unless they’re reminded ...
    • The Streets are filled with Vipers
      In Bob Dylan’s song, ‘Don’t Fall Apart on me Tonight’ he sings a line that explains a major reason why crime is rampant in the U.S. “The streets are filled with vipers who’ve lost all ray of hope.” Bingo! The genius got it right . . .  almost. He wrote that verse ...
    • Women Taking Charge: A Guide to Violent Attack Survival—Part 2—Weapons
      I just talked to a personal security expert who I respect more than just about any other expert including the loads of experts who have sprouted up on-line. I’ve known this expert for decades and he talks reality. He’s traveled the globe doing security and bodyguard work and has done ...
    • Bones Heal, Pain is Temporary and Chicks Dig Scars—Dealing with Fear
      Years after famous motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel retired he had a business disagreement with someone in Geauga County, Ohio. Geauga County is home to several small police departments and my friend worked for one of them. One afternoon he told me that he had to make an official phone call ...
    • Feet Don’t Fail Me Now and How Not To Get Shot
      Even though violent crime and specifically, shootings are on the rise the odds are good that you’ll never be shot at. But if you could learn simple methods to handle shootings, just in case, in about five minutes, wouldn’t you take the time? Continue reading for that five-minute training that ...
    • What’s In a Name? (5 to Survive) Your Survival, That’s What
      For years, I’ve written articles and done countless seminars on how not to become victims of crime. Throughout those years, I’ve also listened to many others talking on the same topic and one thing that always bothered me was the two words that they almost always said but hardly ever ...
    • Are You a Coward?
      A famous Danish theologian, philosopher, poet and religious author, Soren Kierkegaard once wrote, “Once you label me, you negate me.” Negate means to nullify or make ineffective. In his quote, he’s saying that once you or I are labeled as anything—stupid, brute, irresponsible, brave or a coward, that’s what people ...