Herald-Sun editor Bob Ashley has come in for his share of well-deserved criticism for running the paper as if the sun rose in the crevice of Mike Nifong’s behind. But something he wrote in his latest column convinces me the man is just plain odd. On a visit to his hometown of Mt. Airy, Ashley discusses the Andy Griffith connection to Mt. Airy:
So today, the tourists come, often by bus, to stay in the quaint bed-and-breakfasts that line the historic districts of North Main and South Main streets and to savor the atmosphere harking back to the simpler imagined times of Sheriff Andy Taylor and his pals.
You can chow down on a pork-chop sandwich at The Snappy Lunch, just as they did in the show. (Or so I’m told; candor forces me to admit that to the best of my recollection I’ve never watched an entire episode of The Andy Griffith Show, and have paid only passing attention to the bits I’ve seen.)
I was attending Fayetteville Senior High School in the early ’60s and I know from personal experience that every Tuesday morning, as we gathered in the gym to wait for the hallway doors to open, the ONLY topic of conversation was the previous night’s episode of “The Andy Griffith Show.” Now, if a student at FSHS didn’t like the show and, after watching it a few times, never did so again, that would be understandable. But someone who, in this milieu of “Andy Griffith” mania, never once watched an episode, would be considered odd at best. Bob Ashley was either the biggest snob in Mt. Airy, his family couldn’t afford a television, or he’s just not telling the truth.
