The last great reminders of how great things could be
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- December 11, 2017
- 1265
Though it may have gone unnoticed by most of an entire generation my age or younger, the great Jim Nabors passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 87.
For those who don’t know, Jim Nabors was the actor behind television’s Gomer Pyle, who was featured on both "The Andy Griffith Show" and later his own spin-off tagged "Gomer Pyle USMC."
In short Gomer was the lovable dope, making a career out of absent-minded innocence and nearly always coming out on top. Though the names and faces around him may have changed, the general idea of the plot seldom did.
And when that man would sing, people stopped in their tracks.
As a person, everything you hear suggests that right up to the very end, Jim Nabors was one of the kindest, most gentle human beings on the planet. And from a purely black and white standpoint, the world is a sadder place when we lose folks like that.
But beyond the man, losing what Jim Nabors represented in society is equally sad.
That’s because when I think of Jim Nabors, I think of a time that was much simpler. It was a time when kids could play freely on their sidewalks without supervision, cars were left with their engines running during quick stops to the corner store and the idea of locking doors to a school while classes were in session seemed preposterous.
Mind you, by the time I was watching Gomer Pyle and Andy Griffith, they had already been retired and only shown in syndication.
But the way life was lived on the television screen, although fictional, was indicative of the way life was led by those watching the shows. And given that both shows were kept on air for more than 16 years, it’s a good bet that there were plenty of folks watching.
Juxtapose that with today, where millions binge watch flesh-eating zombies, police detectives sorting through twisted, unthinkable crimes and crass, and poorly composed cartoons that routinely cross the line of decency just because. Is it really any wonder why society is as messed up as it is?
While driving to my office this morning, the question was posed as to whether shows like Andy Griffith and Gomer Pyle would fly today due to their stereotypical, less than politically correct characters. And sadly, the general consensus was no.
As consumers of all things media, we’ve become a society of thrill seekers, of people who want to disappear into worlds that never could be or that we’d never actually want to experience in real life. That is unless the zombie apocalypse is something the government has just been covering up all these years.
But sadly, shows that depict everyday life in America just don’t interest us anymore. And that’s a shame. Now probably more than ever, we could use a bit of wholesome Americana broadcast into our homes on a weekly basis.
Jim Nabors was one of the last great reminders of how great things could be. Even if it was fictional, it was certainly something we could all shoot for.