Is it a sign of old age that I recognize so many of the names of the famous people who've lived full lives, made a difference in so many ways, and are now passing away?
Recently Ray Bradbury died (I've read so many of his books). And, now Andy Griffith passed. We never even had a TV when I was a kid, but his presence still somehow entered into my childhood--I could almost liken him to Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird. Maybe it's because they both held positions of authority (sheriff and lawyer). They both seemed to make sense.
Mayberry reminds me of Our Town, a place for the everyman. And, Andy looked on. (As he explained: "At first I was supposed to be the funny central figure, ... But with that format the show might have lasted about four weeks. The way it worked out is, the other people say the funny lines and my character looks on as an observer.")
Perhaps, there's something more to what Thornton Wilder says in his infamous play: "So--people a thousand years from now--this is the way we were... at the beginning of the twentieth century.--This is the way we were: in our growing up and in our marrying and in our living and in our dying."
Then, there's THAT line (one of my favorites): "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?--every, every minute?"
Do you?
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