The teenager, a senior in high school, was hired by a family friend to do a little work around his house. It involved getting up on the roof, down in the basement, trimming trees, stuff that can be done easier by an 18-year-old than a 40-something. The kid took the gig. (It paid good.)
After the kid got started, and it became apparent that the lady of the house would be supervising, the joke started going around that this could be another episode of Aunt Bea and Otis. The one in which Aunt Bea supervised Mr. Work-Release. That might not only be the most popular episode of The Andy Griffith Show, but maybe the most popular in all of black-and-white TV, excluding Lucy hawking Vitameatavegamin.
Yeah, that’s it-Aunt Bea. Otis. Right, kid? You better watch out for-
The blank look said it all. The young man had no idea who Aunt Bea was, let alone Otis, and probably no idea of what black-and-white television was, whatever that means.
He starts college come the fall. Maybe he can learn all about them in Ancient History 101.
Editorial, Pages 16 on 03/22/2014