Going HoHlC
A few days ago I watched the movie “Return to Mayberry.” It has a special meaning to me. I grew up in Dorchester, which is much smaller than Mayberry, yet it was similar in many ways. The people there watched out for one another and cared about each other. Oh, it wasn’t perfect by any means, and perhaps I have selective memories, but I do have a very special place in my heart for my hometown of Dorchester.
Like Opie, I was rather young when I lost a parent. My father worked away from home for a while and only came home on occasional weekends, so I did not spend much time with him. Then suddenly he died when I was just 14. So I spent my teen years without having a father teach me the many things a young boy needs to leam. My father wasn’t there like Andy was for Opie, to teach me how to fish.
When I was twenty-one years old I moved away from Dorchester to begin my career in teaching. I would go back home often over the years to visit my mother and other family members. But slowly over the years the people who were there when I was young were no longer there. It seemed like each time I went home another store had closed down and another new family had moved into a house where I once spent time with a friend.
Over the years I often thought that I would someday go back and live in Dorchester. But it never came to be. And now that I am 78 years old and have lived in Eau Claire for 30 years I imagine this is where I will remain. When I see the opening scene of “Return to Mayberry” where Andy drives into Mayberry after being gone for over 20 years, I cannot help but envy him. He was able to return to his hometown. Although many of his friends and family were no longer there, those who were would welcome his return. Going home after being gone for so long can never be quite the same. Many things will have changed. But Andy was able to go home. However, I will be going home to Dorchester. My wife and I have two burial lots in the Dorchester Memorial Cemetery. So actually, “someday” I will be going home. In fact, I will be surrounded by family members, former neighbors, and even one of my high school teachers. It should be quite the homecoming.
Be Our G uest
