Growing-Up

This Christmas, Naomi gave me a book called, The Andy Griffith Show by Richard Kelly. It's full of behind-the-scenes stuff from that show which was filmed more than forty years ago. It fulfills my nagging need-to-know about one of my favorite programs of all-time.

I've found two things, two people, quite interesting.

The woman who portrayed Aunt Bee, Frances Bavier, is remembered by everyone as being 'nice, except!' Nice, except touchy. Nice, except easily hurt by words not carefully spoken. Nice, except you 'walked on egg shells' around her lest she be offended.

I have friends and relatives like that. Do you? And I'll tell you... If I have a fear of anything, it's of becoming touchy, myself. Because if I become easily-offended, people won't be Real around me. They'll sugar-coat or filter how they really feel about Life. They'll eventually avoid me. All because of a fear of upsetting me and making me say hurt-based words.

But the second thing I noticed in this book, was the way each cast member remembered the man who played Floyd, the town barber. Over and over, everyone spoke glowingly about Howard McNear. Words like, "...there was never anyone like him. Kind, kind man." And Jack Dodson related this story:

"We went to (Howard's) funeral, and I have to say that it was the only funeral I've ever been to where the laughs exceeded the tears. There were a couple of people who knew him well. They spoke in the form of a eulogy -- I guess you could call it that. Oh, but it was funny. They related Howard McNear stories from the pulpit. It was something else. Really, it made a nice thing... It was something else, those stories. And yet, it was all done with dignity. Oh, he was a nice man."

In people's memories, there were no 'nice, except!'s about Howard.

I don't want there to be a lot of 'nice, except!'s remembered about me, either. As a Christian, I want to grow-up and grow beyond childishly getting my feelings hurt. And heaven forbid that I would staunchly defend my right to get offended... or to stay hurt... or to stay sad.

I want a better life than that. Better memories. Like I said, I want to grow-up.


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The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it... Jean Paul