One of my favorite shows growing up (and I admit even today) is The Andy Griffith Show. I never really thought too much about Otis's alcoholism until I became sober this last time. For being intoxicated in public, Otis had a bed in the jail cell, Aunt Bea's cooking, and he was allowed to come in to the Courthouse and come and go as he pleased. He never really had any motivation to change. When I went to jail I got screamed at by a woman cop, got ignored when I was thirsty and trying to get different cops walking by, had to pee in a room which had a door with a window large enough to see me by male/female policemen, and even men workers, inmates walking by and I almost threw up on some mystery gravy on a biscuit they gave me, went to an arraignment, went to a hearing, paid court fees, and other fines. Otis didn't go through any of that and in at least one episode, he was driving intoxicated. I think Sheriff Andy was his enabler.
-- Edited by betterthanyesterday52 on Wednesday 8th of January 2014 08:44:09 PM
One of my favorite shows growing up (and I admit even today) is The Andy Griffith Show. I never really thought too much about Otis's alcoholism until I became sober this last time. For being intoxicated in public, Otis had a bed in the jail cell, Aunt Bea's cooking, and he was allowed to come in to the Courthouse and come and go as he pleased. He never really had any motivation to change. When I went to jail I got screamed at by a woman cop, got ignored when I was thirsty and trying to get different cops walking by, had to pee in a room which had a door with a window large enough to see me by male/female policemen, and even men workers, inmates walking by and I almost threw up on some mystery gravy on a biscuit they gave me, went to an arraignment, went to a hearing, paid court fees, and other fines. Otis didn't go through any of that and in at least one episode, he was driving intoxicated. I think Sheriff Andy was his enabler.
-- Edited by betterthanyesterday52 on Wednesday 8th of January 2014 08:44:09 PM
Hey BTY, ... I loved the Andy Griffith show as well, still do ... but I interpreted this Otis thingy a little differently ...
Mayberry itself was just 'family' ... ... ... Otis, like many 'drunks', was mostly just harming himself ... (and those that cared for him) ... he was the type that just got drunk, no physical damage to others, slept it off and a few days later repeated the process ... Andy simply concerned for Otis' safety, and the public, made it easier for Otis to get off the street, out of harms way ...Andy also knew that you cannot 'motivate' a drunk to change, he tried ... he knew Otis would have to do that for himself ... Barney tried to force the issue several times ... but Andy knew that it was futile to force Otis to stay sober ...
In this 'era' ... drunkenness was seen as a 'weakness', in the poor soul who refused to stop drinking ... today we know a lot more and treat it a lot differently ... 'drink'n back then did not carry nearly the impact on 'public opinion' as it does now (or so it seems) ... also, moonshine was some very hard hitting, fast acting stuff ... (I know!!! ... @160 to 180 proof ... two - three shots, you better have a place to lay down close by, LOL ... cause you're done for the day after a few shots of that stuff ...) ... also Mayberry only had like two or three jails cells ... the one I got locked in had about 500 to 600, maybe more (9 to 10 story 'high-rise')(Atlanta) ... after 4 days, I was sure they had lost the key to me ever getting out ...
Okay, ... 'enabler' or not, I was going to find a way to drink when I wanted to ... regardless of the consequences ... ... ... threats of divorce and being homeless didn't faze me ... I had to drink ... sorry, but I think those who feel they drank because of an 'enabler' were just kidding themselves ... they drank because they felt they had to ... the term 'enabler' was simply another excuse in my book ... :P)
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I just did some research on Otis and found out that he didn't drink in real life. Toward the end of the series, he was not in the show, because the producers were concerned about the excessive drinking message. (Took them awhile). In the "Return to Mayberry" movie in 1986, Otis drove an ice cream truck and had been sober for years. (I love ice cream and I love happy endings). One of many roles he had was doing the voice of the owl in Winnie the Pooh. I also loved Winnie the Pooh growing up. I watched all the cartoons and had a Winnie the Pooh puzzle. One of my strongest memories for some reason is leaving the puzzle in the middle of the family room and my dad walking through and telling me "You better not leave your Winnie the Pooh-Pooh puzzle in the floor or I'm going to throw it away. I didn't anymore after that.
Huh, I never saw the 'Return to Mayberry' movie ... and I didn't know that about Otis ... thanks for the info ... (thanks for the Pooh-Pooh story ... LOL)
__________________
'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
