I love "The Andy Griffith Show" and we can still learn from the people of Mayberry today.
Got time to breathe, got time for music. - Briscoe Darling
Music was an essential element of "The Andy Griffith Show." Andy played guitar on his front porch or at social gatherings. The Darlings played music at their home.
You should always spend time with your family. - Andy
Andy is always spending time with Opie. He even has Opie come to the jail in order to spend time with Andy. Every episode, Andy spends time with Opie.
You should always be honest with everyone, but especially your friends. - Andy
Sometimes the truth is painful and can cause feelings to be hurt. But, honesty is always the best policy.
Help your friends out when you can tell they are really trying. - Andy
Barney was really trying to learn the Preamble and you could tell he really didn't know what he was talking about. But, instead of Andy making fun of me, he guided him on what words to say next.
You have to clean up your own mess. - Opie
In this episode, Opie gets a slingshot and Andy tells him to shoot cans and objects. But, Andy comes home to find a mother bird dead in the front yard and determines that Opie was the cause. Andy makes Opie take care of the baby birds because they no longer have a mother. When they are grown, Opie then has to let them go and just like a parent, he is reluctant.
Opie - "The cage seems empty."
Andy - "Yes, son, it sure does. But don't the trees seem nice and full."
Practice what you preach. - Barney
Barney tended to have a lot of misfires while using his pistol so Andy felt the need to only give him one bullet (for emergencies) because he was required to have a gun since he was a deputy. In this one episode, Barney was giving a lesson on gun safety and when he put the gun in his holster, he shot the floor.
Nip trouble in the bud. - Barney
Barney: "Alright three…Watch it! Now listen, men, and listen good. There's liable to be trouble out there today. We're liable to have folks among us who are here for more than just a good time if you know what I mean? Now the minute there looks like there's gonna be trouble, we got to NIP IT! Nip it in the Bud! You got that? Let's hear it?"
Always do your research before you buy. - Barney
Barney decides he is going to use his savings ($300) to buy a car. He finds one but instead of doing some research on the car and the buyer first, he buys the car. The car was created by a chop shop and is actually a lemon, unbeknownst to Barney until he decides to take Andy, Thelma Lou, Aunt Bee, Opie, and Gomer out for a drive. In this clip, the steering column starts coming towards Barney while he is driving. If Barney had just did some research about the owner then he would have realized that he was being scammed. As much as Mayberry talks, all he had to do was ask around town about her name. Even without cell phones, he would have been able to dig up some dirt just by going to the barber shop and talking to Floyd.
Take time from work when you can. — Andy
Andy is always taking a break from work. He takes days off for himself. He relaxes. Sometimes we take our work home with us — we have our work email on our phone so we can always stay connected if we are needed. We should leave it all at work.
It's OK to ask questions. - Opie
Opie was always smarter than most kids his age. He would question things that even Andy himself wouldn't question.
Dance! - Ernest T. Bass
Ernest T. Bass was just a funny character and him dancing is just hilarious.
Sometimes it's better to make people feel better than to give them the truth. - Barney
Opie is worried about some dogs being out in the storm and Barney tells him that dogs can't get struck by lightning because they are so close to the ground but if they were giraffes, they would get struck by lightning. He says dogs protect their own but giraffes don't which is why he says giraffes are selfish. But, the whole point of this explanation of his is to make Opie feel better about these dogs he found and them being left alone in the storm. Barney is trying to make Opie feel better.
Lead by your heart; not by the book - Andy
In this particular episode, Andy lets his prisoners go so they can spend time with their families over Christmas. Yes, they committed a crime. Yes, they are in the wrong. But, it also is Christmas and Andy understands that. Andy understands their families need them.
No other sheriff would do that. And I am not saying we should do that now. But, back then, it was a nice gesture. It was something only Andy Taylor would do.
Poor Barney. Most of these lessons are because of his stupidity. You can learn a lot from someone's mistakes.
