I realize I post some rather length writings, and I apologize for doing one so soon after saying I wouldn't. But I want to share something with you, my Mayberry family, that I have shared with few others.
"The movie Return to Mayberry was a greatly anticipated movie for Mayberry fans everywhere. When it was first released it was wonderful to see our friends in Mayberry albeit they had aged. But I had aged along with them so it only seemed natural to see Andy's gray hair and a grown up Opie who was about to become a father. Everyone in Mayberry had changed and that is how life is meant to be. Only when one fails to change do they fail to grow and experience all that life has to offer. There was one person in "Return to Mayberry" who had perhaps changed the most. That was Otis Campbell. Yet his appearance in the movie was only for one brief scene. For many years we laughed at Otis as he staggered into the courthouse with a snootful and locked himself in his cell. Everyone in Mayberry accepted Otis' weakness and his humorous antics brought us all years of enjoyment. I was so pleased to see a sober and reformed Otis Campbell in "Return to Mayberry". Although Otis was a loveable happy person in Mayberry, his portrayal as the town drunk was not at all accurate. While we enjoyed laughing at Otis riding a cow or talking to an invisible dog, we never saw the effects his drinking had on the other people in his life. We never saw Mrs. Campbell sitting up late at night wondering if Otis was coming home or if he were lying injured in an alley somewhere. We did not see her embarrassment when she heard the people of Mayberry laughing at her husband's actions. We never knew what Mrs. Campbell had to go without because Otis spent money on his spirits rather than on things needed by his family. These things were always in the back of my mind when I watched Otis. For you see, I came from a family with a father who was like Otis. My father was a hard working man who never missed a day of work because of his drinking. But he missed many nights at home with his family. I remember the nights I lay awake wondering if and when he would be coming home. I remember my embarrassment when my friends would tell me in school that they saw my father come staggering out of a bar the night before. I remember the holidays that were not like my friends' because my father was out celebrating with his friends rather than being home with his family. But most of all I remember the pain and hurt that I saw in my mother's eyes as she wondered where the money was going to come from to buy food for her four children. Otis was a laughable character in Mayberry, but his problem was not laughable. But back in the 60's that was how it was treated. Our small town policeman would follow my father home from the bars to make sure he made it home. He never once received a ticket or was arrested. There were times when I wish he would have been. Because so many people enabled him to continue drinking, he never had the incentive to stop. Maybe they could have made a difference, but no one bothered to try. It took me a long time to understand that my father had an illness. He was an alcoholic. But when I was young, that word was never used. Then in 1960 my father died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 54. I was just 13 at the time. His life was cut short dramatically because of alcohol. The anger that I once had is now long gone. Yet I have to admit when I see a father come into church with children I still experience envy, for that was something I never experienced. With my wife and me not being able to have children, I will never know the joy of a father and son sitting together worshipping God. By the time Return to Mayberry debuted, attitudes towards alcohol abuse were changing. It was no longer funny to see a grown man stagger and unable to speak clearly. Thankfully the producers of Return to Mayberry realized Otis needed to change. I only wish they would have done it much sooner." Kenneth G. Anderson 2906 May Street Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54701 715-839-8470 [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
