A LIFE IN PROGRESS
By Ray Lucas
HAPPY FATHER ’ S DAY FROM MAYBERRY AND SELLERSBURG
I love the opening scene to The Andy Griffith Show where Andy and his son Opie are walking to the fishing hole , cane poles in hand , while the narrator whistles the show ’ s theme song . It ’ s probably one of the most iconic father-son scenes in television .
The Andy Griffith character stands out for how he used subtle life lessons as a father to teach his son about responsibility , telling the truth and standing up to bullies . I remember watching an episode where he made Opie take care of three baby birds orphaned when the youngster shot and killed the mother bird with his sling shot .
One of the reasons I like the opening credits to this show is because it makes me think about walking back to the pond behind my childhood home with my own dad to go fishing . We would crawl through the barbed wire fence that surrounded the pond and kept the cows in the pasture to fish for blue gill and bass . He taught me how to tie a knot for my hook , how to cast an open face fishing reel and how to tell stories about the one who got away .
My dad however , whom we still call Daddy , was not exactly Andy Griffith . He smoked Kool brand cigarettes , had tattoos of eagles and snakes across his chest that he picked up in the
Navy and to this day many of my favorite cuss words were ones I learned from him .
However , like The Andy Griffith Show , I grew up idealizing and learning from Daddy by the small lessons he taught through his words and actions . It would make for boring television but my dad taught me :
• How to back up a trailer and drive a stick shift .
• How to throw and catch a football .
• How to jump start a car and change the oil .
• How to play pool .
• How to be generous with your time by helping friends and family in need , before they ever ask .
• How to be kind to strangers who have less .
There ’ s another small lesson I learned from him when I was about eight years old and have never shared but always carried with me . I had accompanied him to a friend ’ s house to go boating when his friend asked me a question about whether I was excited to go out on the Ohio River with them later that day . I remember answering in a “ trying to be cool ” kind of way , “ Yeah , I guess so .”
Later , on our drive to the boat ramp at Duffy ’ s Landing , my dad really let me have it about how I responded to his friend ’ s invitation to go boating . “ When someone asks you a question like that you respond with “ ‘ yes sir ’ and ‘ thank you .’ ” Like the Andy Griffith episode about orphaned baby birds , he shared how disappointed he was with my lack of manners . It was a tough-love type of lesson about being polite and showing respect to adults .
The lessons I learned from Daddy , which most of us learn from our dads or surrogate
110 EXTOL : JUNE / JULY 2018