Mayberry .... Sweet Mayberry ... RFD even

80 degrees. Emmett washing his car with the garden hose. Barney patroling the school crosswalk. Floyd doing more talking than hair cutting. Is Gomer ever going to get out of the marines? Who knew that Goober had more talent when it came to fixing cars? And on and on and on ...

Watching those black and white episodes of The Andy Griffith Show , you get the feeling that this is a place that you have to visit; a place that you need to visit. Just like the guy who subscribed to the town paper and got to know folks so well, he convinced himself that he was from the town himself.

And why wouldn't you want to go to Mayberry? Pies cooling on the window sill, pickle and flower contests at the fair. And do you know that Aunt Bee makes some fried chicken that's as scrumptious as can be?

And what better a place to find a wife and settle down. There are plenty of fine looking women helping out on the farm until their prince comes, or working at the drugstore selling old ladies sugar pills for a dime.

And Christmastime in Mayberry? I hear of a special holiday party going on down at the jail. But its by invitation only. Though if you go around to the alley, you can hear the music and laughter coming through the bars. It'll make you go to Weaver's Dept store, buy a sack of toys and start handing them out to random children ... Mayberry just has that effect on people.