John Hood: Truths Are Timeless in Mayberry … and Ted Koppel’s hit won’t change a thing | Chroniclers

Desperate to find such a place, if only for a weekend, fans began to visit Mount Airy in droves. The City of Granite has shown itself to be flexible enough to accommodate them. You can hop in a vintage patrol car at Wally’s Filling Station and be whisked to Floyd’s Barber Shop for a cup, Barney’s Cafe for a smile, and Snappy Lunch for its famous pork chop sandwich.

I was in Mount Airy recently for the Mayberry Days festival. My new War of Independence-themed novel “Mountain Folk” is set in part on the distinctive Big Pinnacle of Pilot Mountain nearby, so it was only natural for me to do a book signing downtown. . But it was only an excuse. My wife and I wanted to spend a weekend. We got it, and more, thanks to Ted Koppel.

No, the famous reporter was not at Mount Airy when we were there. But he had come shortly before, producing a segment that aired on “CBS Sunday Morning” just as Mayberry Days was about to begin.

It was, alas, for the most part a hit song. Looking more bewildered than insightful, Koppel sought to portray Andy Griffith fans as fanatic fools wallowing in nostalgia for a past of racial segregation. He reacted with false dismay that an Ohio couple would let their son watch the show for hours. “Aren’t you afraid,” he asked her disdainfully, “that you were going to boil his little brain?”

There was also a lengthy interview with tourists who believe the election was stolen from Donald Trump, believe the January 6 riot was organized by antifa, and view journalists as “enemies of the people.” Of course, there are quite a few Trump supporters who believe in such nonsense. We lied to them, yes. But they were also alienated from years of staring at sneering teachers like Koppel.