My Musings

There are many things that I did with my parents about which I nostalgically reminisce with great fondness. Several of them are things I attempt to do with my children. Of course, some are easily duplicatable and meet with great favor on the part of my children. Others become forced until I realize that as much as they strike a chord with me, they just don't jive with the next generation of Wests.

One of those activities that has made the leap from one multi-generational enjoyment to the next is the watching of the Andy Griffith Show. It is something we find exceedingly enjoyable, and we even will call my parents during certain episodes. The show is highly entertaining and I never worry about whether something unknown will come up and I need to feel bad about my children watching it.

Almost every episode teaches a lesson, and the show has a general sense of a Christian culture. Those are just two of the many things I enjoy, and I wish that today's shows had that same idea. With the superior technology and ability to film things today, there is so much more potential, yet it seems as if they are in favor of cruder (or more profane) entertainment. As much as I think that could fascinate us, I was sidetracked by a specific episode of The Andy Griffith Show.

This episode was about a high school reunion and Andy's talking to his high school girlfriend. This had our children asking us if we remembered anyone from our high school. Seeing as how Kelly and I attended the same high school, we have an obvious person that we keep in contact with. And unlike Andy and Sharon DeSpain, Kelly and I didn't part ways after high school with different visions of where we should live. It kind of opened another road to tell our children about our story, which is always awesome!

Kelly and I then begin to watch with a critical eye, as we see Barney looking through the yearbook to attempt to identify people and wonder how he could forget so many people. Then we walk to the computer and see 15 people who have requested to be our friends on Facebook and we just cannot recall them. Even though we went to a small school that had just over 100 high school students, some people somehow did not make it into our permanent memory. And I thought I remembered everyone!

Why is it that we can spend every day for a year or two with people, know their name, create a special greeting for them, and then completely forget them years later, while I still remember that person in my neighborhood who broke my basketball hoop years later? The wonders of the human memory. It can be a great thing, but it can also be a terrible thing when someone I should remember wants to meet me for lunch, and I don't even know who they are.