My fantasy dad

My father died more than 15 years ago. We had a sad, tempestuous and unfortunate relationship and, to be very honest, I don't miss him. I'm no longer angry at him -- I accept that while he may not have been the father I deserved, he's the one I got. But just because I don't miss HIM, it doesn't mean I don't miss having a kind, empathic father.

I still long to have a dad like Andy Taylor.

Remember the episode about Mr. McBeevee? Opie comes to the courthouse and the dinner table with tales of his new friend, a man who jingles when he walks along the tops of the trees. Aunt Bea, Andy and Barney are all amused by Opie's imaginary friend ... until Opie comes up with money he claims McBeevee gave him. Barney recommends discipline. Andy asks Opie again, one more time, to look him in the eye and tell him where he got the money. Opie again, tearful with frustration, insists the source was Mr. McBeevee. Andy says OK then, if Opie says the money came from McBeevee, it did. Barney is astonished. "Do you believe in McBeevee?" he asks. "No," Andy replies, "but I believe in Opie." That moment is the episode highlight for me. Before the end of the half hour, Andy gets to meet Mr. McBeevee. He's a repairman for the telephone company, working on the lines, which explains how Opie saw him "walking along the top of the trees."

Or my favorite, "Opie the Birdman." Opie acquires a slingshot and, like Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird, Andy warns Opie not to shoot at the trees. Opie ignores the admonition and accidentally kills a mother bird. Opie impresses his father by making good and adopting the dead bird's babies. Naming them Winkin, Blinkin and Nod, he keeps them safe in a cage and feeds them worms. Finally, tenderly, Andy explains that it's time to let the birds go. That their ability to fly and care for themselves means that Opie did a good job of raising them. Opie does the right thing, but it's painful for him. After the birds take off, Opie looks at the cage and comments sadly that it sure seems empty. Andy replies that may be true, "but don't the trees sound nice and full?"

Andy taught Opie (and in a way, this gal) life lessons with tenderness, humanity and understanding. He was a wonderful male role model. Strong enough to have a gun but not carry it, wise enough to trust what he couldn't see.

I don't know anything about the real Andy Griffith, whether he has kids or what their relationship is. I don't want to know. I'd rather cherish the idealized version we can still see on TvLand.