Andy Griffith

 

I’ve been thinking about Andy Griffith a lot lately. And I have Danny Thomas to thank for it.

I spend a lot of time trolling YouTube – the Internet website that allows anyone from large corporations to the average guy like me to upload videos.

Recently, I came across an Andy Griffith episode I’d never seen. For those of us who grew up watching the goings on of The Andy Griffith Show, finding an episode that we didn’t know existed is comparable ...

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The Axing Price

The stack of split wood lined much of the back wall of the house on Locust Street. That wood burned hot during many 1970s Arkansas winters.

My father would have the wood delivered cut lengthwise, but not split. That’s what I was for.

Each spring and summer, I would head to the backyard, grabbing the single-blade axe, sledgehammer and two steel wedges, and get to work. I was in my teens and could plow through a rick in short order and then ...

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Vintage Bowls

We were watching one of my wife’s favorite cooking shows when she noticed a set of colored bowls the woman on the television was using.

“My mother used to have a set of bowls just like that!” she said. “I always loved those bowls. I wonder whatever happened to them? I wonder if she still has them? I’d love to have a set of those. They bring back so may memories!”

Before she had finished the last two sentences, I was already ...

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Ms. Bobby

 

The building looked bigger, but I was certain it was the same one.

The last time I had been inside was 1977. I was 15, a sophomore in high school, and the facility’s chief dishwasher. As a matter of fact, I’m fairly certain that I was the facility’s only dishwasher.

County Seat Fried Chicken was my hometown’s only fried chicken restaurant at the time. With only slightly over 5,000 on the city limit sign, KFC and Church’s didn’t have franchises in towns ...

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The Pioneer Skillet

My momma’s skillet and this columnist are featured in the fall issue of the Pioneer Woman Magazine.

Well, it used to be my momma’s skillet. She gave it to me when I left home almost 40 years ago.

And there it is on page 72 of Ree Drummond’s new magazine.

If by chance, you aren’t familiar with Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman), she has built a media empire that grew out of a blog she began writing in 2006. It chronicles her daily ...

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The Heat Is On

After a recent meeting, a coworker mentioned that she and her family had bought a new home. Actually, it was new to them, but it was built in 1963 in what was then and is still now one of the city’s most desirable neighborhoods.

What seemed like a typical workplace side conversation took a very positive turn when she mentioned that the appliances were all original. And they still worked.

No doubt, I’m a sucker for vintage anything, but I’ve always been ...

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Ohm Improvement

I remember when VCRs came out. It seemed that no one over the age of 27 knew how to stop the clock from flashing 12:00.

It was such a simple fix that I never understood why the adults couldn’t figure it out. Even after I showed them how to fix the clock, they still couldn’t grasp it.

The same was true for programming the thing to record Columbo, The Andy Griffith Show, or any of the other programs that grownups couldn’t live ...

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A Magazine Issue

I have a hard time getting rid of magazines.

I know that I could remove my name and address and donate them to a library or a hospital, but I just know that one day I’ll want to dig one back out to reread something.

Even though I’ve never done that.

My piles of Mother Earth News, Countryside & Small Stock Journal, Smithsonian, Cooks Country, and Guns & Ammo, are growing ever larger.

But magazines are dwindling in number, and many of the best ...

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Cutting Out

If I ever find a bottle with a genie in it, I’m using all three wishes to have someone else mow my yard.

I know, you’re thinking that I should use one of my three wishes for a permanent genie lawn boy and the other two for a winning lottery ticket and TV news with no arguing. But, I’m fairly certain that even an eternal genie would tire of mowing my yard. It’s fairly large.

When I was a kid, I couldn’t ...

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The Canning Jar Quest

Forty-five years ago, my mother began collecting a series of antique canning jars. I can’t remember why this happened, but my best guess is that she came across one that was unique, she liked it, and she bought it.

This purchase would start a chain reaction and a multi-year search for my family.

Specifically, she sought green Atlas jars with glass lids. These were also known as “Lightning Jars.” Allegedly, the name came from how much faster they were to open than ...

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