A Tribute to Don Knotts
What can one say when a true living legend passes from this life to the
next? For more than forty years Don Knotts touched the hearts of millions
as he portrayed that bumbling, nervous, and loveable Deputy Barney Fife. We
first met Barney Fife and the wonderful people of Mayberry back on October
3, 1960, when the very first episode, "The New Housekeeper" was aired.
Television and comedy were never the same again.
My friends and I grew up watching The Andy Griffith Show. Many people
consider Mayberry to be a totally unrealistic town. But growing up in a
small town very similar to Mayberry in many respects, I can attest to the
fact that there were towns like Mayberry. I use the past tense were because
those days of Mayberry and the Andy Griffith Show are no longer here. Gone
are those simpler and much slower times when virtues such as innocence,
caring, and simplicity were the norm in countless small towns throughout
this great land. However, because of countless reruns and DVD's of the Andy
Griffith Show, Barney Fife will continue to be a part of our lives for many
years to come. I have every single episode of the Andy Griffith Show on
either video tape or DVD and not a single day passes without my sitting down
for a few episodes of Andy and Barney.
People who know me closely call me Barney. All you have to do is look at my
license plate on my car and you will understand why. It is B FIFE. I wear
a Barney Fife collector's wristwatch and I carry a Barney Fife driver's
license in my wallet. When I dress up for a special event, I quite often
wear my beautiful Barney Fife tie. I drink soda from a Barney Fife stein and
we serve guests on our Barney Fife matching dishes. I have a Mayberry
pennant hanging above my computer in my den and I have numerous pictures of
Barney Fife hanging around the house. My bookcase has a number of books
about Mayberry and several specifically about Barney Fife.
When I retired early from teaching because of medical issues, all the
teachers at the Fall Creek Elementary School dressed up like Barney Fife on
my last day teaching. They presented me with a large poster of Barney Fife.
However, it had one alteration. Instead of Barney Fife's face on the
poster, it had mine. They knew how to make my final and difficult day of
teaching a very special one for me. They included Barney Fife.
Television today is unlike television when The Andy Griffith Show debuted.
Standards of conduct and decency were quite different. For forty-six years
families could gather around the television and know that for the next
thirty minutes they could share in good clean humor without any
embarrassment. The Andy Griffith Show, and in particular Don Knotts, could
make people laugh with out any off color humor, sexual innuendos, or foul
language. Perhaps that is the main reason I enjoy the program so much even
to this day.
There will always be a special place in my heart for Don Knotts. I never
had the privilege of meeting Don. But if I had, I would have said, "Thank
you Mr. Knotts. Thank you for giving me forty six years of laughter. Thank
you for making my life just a little bit better by having entered my home
for so many years. Thank you for setting a standard for others to follow."
Farewell, Don Knotts. Farewell, Barney Fife. Farewell to a comedian whose
likes we shall never see again. Thank you for all the memories.
Kenneth G. Anderson
2906 May Street
Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54701
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Kenneth G. Anderson
2906 May Street
Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54701
715-839-8470
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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