More Reasons To Ditch NASCAR

I am amazed at how at how good NASCAR drivers are at pretending to be ignorant when it comes to NASCAR's declining race attendance and falling TV viewership, along with Jimmie Johnson living in denial as to why his predictable dominance is without a doubt a factor in declining TV ratings and falling race attendance.

NASCAR drivers know just like everybody else exactly why NASCAR's TV ratings have fallen and race attendance has declined. The races lack excitement anymore. The same driver wins the championship every year. NASCAR plays favorites with the #48 team by throwing alleged "debris" cautions and not penalizing crew chief Chad Knaus for his blatant cheating,as they did with driver Clint Bowyer and his Richard Childress Racing team. It should be noted that earlier this year,drivers Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin were fined for just speaking their minds about NASCAR's questionable practices and blatant favoritism toward the #48 team so it could be the drivers are feigning ignorance to please Brian France,Mike Helton,Ramsey Poston,John Darby,and others. Since the Newman and Hamlin incidents, NASCAR has essentially placed a gag order on their drivers.

Jimmie Johnson's dominance of the NASCAR Cup series since 2006 is one reason,but not the only reason,why fans are losing interest in NASCAR and why TV ratings have fallen and race attendance has declined. Fans figure why bother spending their hard-earned money when they already know the outcome of the races and the championship? Few races NASCAR runs today even come close to the bumper-to-bumper,side-by-side,fight to the finish races of days gone by. Even tracks that traditionally have had exciting races,such as Bristol,are not as exciting now and do not sell out anymore. The Chase is a big turn-off and should be scrapped. The NFL will always dominate the ratings on Sunday afternoons in the fall and NASCAR cannot and will not change it. The fact that TV ratings have fallen and race attendance has declined since the inception of the Chase in 2004 should tell NASCAR something but like Jimmie Johnson,NASCAR refuses to look at the facts.

Another factor is NASCAR's refusal to listen the fans. They pretend to listen but they do not listen. If they did listen,the seats at race tracks would not be increasingly empty as they have been in recent years. The races would not be predictable and boring as most of them are now. TV ratings would not be declining every week. The problem is not with the fans. The problem is with NASCAR and those who run it. The excitement has also gone out of the Nationwide series,especially since its domination by Cup drivers.

Abandonment of heritage: It was hard working blue collar Southerners who put NASCAR on the map and spurred its phenomenal rise. Now NASCAR has abandoned and betrayed their Southern following and fans south of the Mason/Dixon line are letting their displeasure be known. The damage was only worsened with the dropping of a race at historic Atlanta Motor Speedway. When Brian France made disparaging remarks about the Confederate flag and started trying to lecture fans about diversity and multiculturalism,it sealed the sport's fate for the worse. Brian's Southern grandfather, William France Sr, was probably expressing outrage from beyond the grave at his grandson's treasonous statements.

In the old days,NASCAR races were often followed by knock down,drag out brawls in the pits. Nowadays,such activity would result in fines and suspensions but back in the day,it was the rule instead of the exception. Earlier this year,NASCAR decided to let drivers police themselves on the track and it has brought back some excitement to NASCAR races but not enough to reverse the decline of recent years.

Unless NASCAR,those who run it,and some of the drivers,get their heads out of the sand and put the emphasis on real racing again,NASCAR's future is no future at all.

Happy 50th Anniversary,Mayberry

On October 3, 1960, "The Andy Griffith Show" debuted on CBS,with Andy Griffith as widowed Sheriff Andy Taylor, Don Knotts as Deputy Barney Fife, Frances Bavier as Aunt Bea,and 6-year-old Ron Howard as Andy's son Opie. During the first season, Andy's love interest was Ellie Walker (played by "Father Knows Best" actress Elinor Donahue), who worked at the local drug store. Andy's Aunt Bea moved in with Andy and Opie after Andy's wife died to help keep house and help take care of Opie. "The Andy Griffith Show" spun off from another long-running sitcom, "Make Room For Daddy",starring Danny Thomas. In an episode of "Make Room For Daddy", Danny Williams (Danny Thomas) passes through Mayberry and clashes with Sheriff Andy Taylor,who jails Danny. This episode introduces some of the townspeople as well,including Aunt Bea.

The show revolves around happenings in the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina, and in the lives of its residents,mostly the Taylors and those close to them. The stories are tales of small-town and rural life. The show promotes spiritual and moral values such as church attendance and doing the right thing,along with human values such as neighbors helping neighbors and helping anybody in distress. As a native North Carolinian, I am proud that this show represents my home state well. These are values we Tar Heels share.

The show has its share of hilarious episodes, my favorite episodes include Aunt Bea's pickles that she wanted to enter in the county fair but Andy and Barney did not have the heart to tell Aunt Bea how badly her pickles tasted. Andy and Barney replaced Aunt Bea's pickles with store-bought pickles. It is hilarious when Barney tries smuggling Aunt Bea's pickles out of the house in a suitcase,only for the clinking sound of the jars inside that almost give away what Barney is doing. Another favorite is when Andy runs out of room at the jail,so town drunk Otis Campbell must stay overnight at Andy's house. Aunt Bea treats Otis' stay as a jail sentence and makes him work hard around the house and forces him to give up liquor. The show's Christmas episode is excellent when Mayberry's own version of Scrooge makes it clear that he wants no part of Andy's Christmas celebration but in reality, he is lonely and wants to take part in the festivities so he gets himself arrested and brings Christmas presents for everybody. The "fun girls" episodes are funny also,especially when Helen and Thelma Lou get the wrong idea when they see Andy and Barney with other women. The Darling family episodes are great also,especially Charlene and her crush on Andy. The Darling brothers were played by the Dillards, who in real life perform bluegrass music professionally.

Another hilarious episode is when Barney and Floyd the barber are held hostage by escaped women convicts. One of the escaped convicts dances with Barney right out the door to Andy,who immediately arrests her. I also like the episode when Andy and Helen are trapped in a cave after a rock slide but discover a way out,only to return and spare Barney embarrassment after he organizes a rescue party.

It makes me want to cry when I see Opie crying when he carries a mother bird he accidentally killed with his slingshot. That is some of the most powerful acting ever done on any show,comedy or drama. For punishment,Andy makes Opie listen to the baby birds crying out for their mother. Opie raises the baby birds until they are fully grown,when he releases them.

There are so many other priceless moments on this show. Howard Morris is hilarious as Ernest T. Bass.

As with most long-running series, "The Andy Griffith Show" endured its share of changes.

Ellie Walker was gone after the first season when Elinor Donahue left the series. Barney was romantically involved with Juanita (or "Nita" as he called her),who worked at the Mayberry Diner but was never seen. Barney later found romance with Thelma Lou though she eventually left town. Barney is crushed when he finds out Thelma Lou is married when she returns to Mayberry for a visit. After the fifth season, Don Knotts left the series, with Barney Fife having moved to Raleigh,where he became a police detective. Don Knotts returned for occasional guest appearances. Andy eventually finds romance with Opie's schoolteacher Helen Crump. On the first episode of Andy Griffith's successor, "Mayberry RFD", Andy and Helen marry and move away. Opie grows out of the little boy phase and starts taking an interest in girls in the show's later years. Howard McNear,who played Floyd the barber,suffered a stroke,resulting in a long absence from the series. He eventually returned to the show. Mr.McNear passed away in 1969. Early in 1968, even though his show was still number one in the ratings, Andy Griffith announced he was ending his show.

By the fall of 1968, "The Andy Griffith Show" was no more. In its place was "Mayberry RFD", starring Ken Berry as Sam Jones, a widower like Andy Taylor. Sam also had a son, Mike. CBS retained the original cast,sans Andy Griffith and Ron Howard. Frances Bavier left as Aunt Bea in 1970 after 10 years in that role and was replaced by Alice Ghostley (who at that time also played Esmeralda on "Bewitched") as Aunt Alice. "Mayberry RFD" was canceled by CBS in 1971 when the network purged their "rural-oriented" shows for supposedly more sophisticated,urban fare such as newcomer "All In The Family". "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Green Acres",and "Hee Haw" were also canceled by CBS for the same reason. The line went that CBS canceled any show "that had a tree in it".

Notwithstanding, "The Andy Griffith Show" remains enormously popular and is shown on local stations and TV Land,with new generations of viewers enjoying the show. Mayberry is a fictional town but will always be real in the hearts of millions of fans. Andy Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina, hosts an annual event known as "Mayberry Days", when actors and actresses from the show and people who worked behind the scenes on the show visit with fans and sign autographs. There is a Barney Fife impersonator. There is a reproduction of Sheriff Taylor's car. Fans dine at a local eatery known as the Snappy Lunch,believed to be the real-life inspiration for the Mayberry Diner. Andy Griffith lives on Roanoke Island, North Carolina, where he began his acting career portraying Sir Walter Raleigh in "The Lost Colony". Frances Bavier passed away in 1989 after having moved to Siler City, North Carolina, many years before. Don Knotts starred as landlord Ralph Furley on "Three's Company" in the early 1980s and had a successful movie career, sometimes appearing with Tim Conway. Don Knotts passed away in 2006. Andy Griffith had another long-running TV series in the 1980s and 1990s, "Matlock",on which he played folksy Atlanta attorney Ben Matlock. Ron Howard starred as Richie Cunningham on the long-running sitcom "Happy Days" and later found success as a movie director.

"Gomer Pyle,USMC" was a successful spin off of "The Andy Griffith Show",with Jim Nabors in the role he began on 'The Andy Griffith Show" as filling station attendant and auto mechanic Gomer Pyle, who had joined the Marines. Gomer was replaced as a filling station attendant and auto mechanic by his cousin Goober Pyle, played by George Lindsey.

Most of the cast of "The Andy Griffith Show" reunited for the 1986 made for TV movie "Return To Mayberry". Andy and Helen return to Mayberry. Barney is now sheriff. Opie and his wife are expecting a baby. Andy helps deliver his grandchild after his daughter-in-law goes into labor. Barney and Thelma Lou get married. Most of the supporting characters return,though Aunt Bea was written out as having passed away,even though Frances Bavier was alive.

With so much junk on TV nowadays,it is comforting that a wholesome series with excellent writing,great comedy,and timeless values such as "The Andy Griffith Show" remains an American classic and will entertain future generations.

Good Grief! Charlie Brown Turns 60

On October 2, 1950, cartoonist Charles Schulz introduced a cartoon character that would forever become part of American popular culture. It was on this date that Peanuts,featuring

Charlie Brown,Lucy,Linus,Sally,Peppermint Patty,Schroder,Snoopy,Woodstock,and the rest of the Peanuts gang debuted in newspapers across America.

In 1965, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" debuted as the first animated Peanuts TV special. This was followed by the debut of the Halloween special "It's The Great Pumpkin,Charlie Brown" in 1966 and "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" in 1973. Other holiday specials for Easter,New Year's,and Valentine's Day have followed. The Christmas special remains critically acclaimed and won the prestigious Peabody Award. One of the animated specials won an Emmy Award.

Charlie Brown and his Peanuts pals have always been a big part of my life and millions of lives around the world. Peanuts makes insightful observations about life from a child's point of view. No adults ever appeared in the comic strips. Only one animated special that I know about has adults shown at all. Most of the specials have adult voices muffled.

The success of "Peanuts" has led to full-length animated feature films and a Broadway musical, "You're A Good Man,Charlie Brown". The music from the cartoons, composed by Vince Guaraldi and performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, is enormously popular, especially from the Christmas special.

Charles Schulz died in 2000 after he specifically requested that "Peanuts" would no longer have first-run strips after his death. Yet, ten years after Mr.Schulz's death, his old Peanuts strips are rerun in newspapers every day and the animated specials are as popular as ever.

Happy 60th Anniversary,Charlie Brown. Thanks for being a part of my life and so many other lives.

Honorary mention goes to another favorite comic strip of mine, "Blondie",which turned 80 this year. Chic Young began drawing and syndicating "Blondie" in 1930. Chic Young died in 1973 and his son Dean took over as cartoonist. "Blondie" is as entertaining and popular as ever. Blondie has made its mark on American popular culture as well, popularizing a sandwich known as "The Dagwood", named after the huge,stacked sandwiches made by Dagwood in the Blondie comic strip. It is so refreshing that in a day and age of raw sex,gruesome violence,and hard profanity in movies,on TV,and elsewhere,that wholesome havens such as "Peanuts","Blondie",and "Snuffy Smith" remain intact.

Blondie was made into live action movies starring Penny Singleton as Blondie and Arthur Lake as Dagwood. It was also a TV sitcom in the 1950s and again in the 1960s,with an animated TV special in 1989,featuring the voice of Loni Anderson as Blondie. In 1991,after 61 years as a housewife, Blondie began her own catering business. Blondie and Dagwood have two children, son Alexander and daughter Cookie. Happy 80th Anniversary, Blondie,Dagwood,and the rest.