Goober’s Gone

I opened up the paper this morning and saw that George Lindsey had died. The actor/comedian best known for his "Goober" character, died over the weekend in Nashville.

We first met Goober on the Andy Griffith Show in the mid 60s. He was Goober Pyle, the cousin of Gomer Pyle, who was leaving Mayberry to join the Marines. Goober was on the Andy Griffith Show and its successor, Mayberry RFD. Then, he continued the Goober character on Hee Haw through the early 80s. In fact, I had stumbled across an old Hee Haw episode on RFD-TV just last night.

George Lindsey came through this area once that I'm aware of. In the early 80s, he did a promotional tour that brought him to the area Farm & Home Supply stores. I think he was promoting a particular brand of overalls. Anyway, one of his stops was Farm & Home in Pittsfield. I met him just long enough to get a picture of him with my kids. And, I got an autographed glossy. I think I've still got those pictures somewhere.

The point of all of this is that, while the baby boomer generation has a problem admitting that we are getting older, it's news of someone we grew up with dying that makes us realize that we are, in fact, not as young as we used to be. ((Deep sigh))

Happy Monday.