Looking back on the summer, I don’t think anybody (especially me) imagined the attention this class would eventually receive. Matter of fact, the week before the first class, I began to doubt the wisdom of trying such a class. I wasn’t sure how it would be received or for that matter if anyone would show up. This experience re-affirmed my belief that if you have just a little faith, things will tend to work out just fine.
As you can imagine, the first night was pretty nerve racking. I got there early to be sure that everything was set up properly for the class, including the introduction music by the Darlings. At about five minutes until 7:00, the classroom was still fairly empty and my heart began to sink. The one thing I will never forget about the first session was Brad out in the hallway actively recruiting people to come into our class! I’m sure glad he did because if he hadn’t, we probably would have had a few less than the twenty five or so that comprised the first class (our highest Wednesday night attendance was 85). The first episode was Opie’s Charity and I believe it got the class off to a great start. After the episode presentation, we had some really good conversation and feedback. When it was over, I think both Brad and I breathed a sigh of relief. From this point, it looked like the class was going to work.
By the third week, I believe we had gotten into a rhythm and the class was going smoothly. One change about this particular night was that Brad was out of town on business and I was going to handle the class myself. That didn’t bother me until I met our preacher, Eddie Levick, in the hall about ten minutes before class started. When Eddie casually stated, "Oh, did you hear that (WHNT) Channel 19 will be here tonight to do a story on the class?", I did my best to act calm and nonchalant. That night we were visited by a very nice reporter and camera man from the local television station who stayed for the entire class and conducted several interviews afterward. The class was later featured as part of the stations weekly segment highlighting "Good News" stories in the community. Little did we know that this story would be the first of several stories done about our Andy Griffith class.
Finally, another thing that has really been a blessing to me is the Internet correspondence resulting from maintaining the BarneyFife.com website. I have received messages from many people across this nation and even a few from other countries. Each one has been very complimentary of the work we have done and several are planning or have already started Mayberry classes of their own. One thing I really appreciate is the fact that we all have a special appreciation of The Andy Griffith Show. My ongoing hope is that this class will continue to highlight the talent, hard work, and dedication that went into the creation of this special series.
Joey Fann
Personal Reflections