Response from the Fix-It Shop:
Well, as Barney said in that same episode when Andy asked him why he wasn't saying anything, "l swallowed my gum." And boy we sure did on this one. We received a record number of letters (somewhere around 20; we quit counting) pointing out the incompleteness of our answer and how we "blew the scramez-vous."

We had said that Barney's saying "bread and butter" was funny and ironic because he was trying to treat the manhunt as routine or bread and buyer." And while that may have been a secondary meaning that the writers had in mind, surely the primary one was the fun of having Barney automatically say "bread and butter" (when he and Andy walk on opposite sides of the tree) during the intense manhunt.

Our Goober staff had always heard "peanut butter and jelly" and "salt and pepper" as expressions used when two people pass opposite sides of an object, but "bread and butter" had escaped us. And while we're on the subject, a similar instance of Barney's using a superstitious expression is when he and Doc Malloy are 'breaking out" of the Mayberry jail in Jailbreaks (Episode #50). When they both say "so far, so good" at the same time, Barney insists that they say, "Needles"/"Pins" and lock pinky fingers. (And, of course, what's hilarious is that bad guy Malloy actually complies!)

Dear Fix-It Shop:
I've always seen curious if there was a city map of Mayberry -- one that might show the layout of Main Street, as far as where the hotel, Walker's Drugstore, Weaver's, Crowley's Market, etc., are located in relation to the Mayberry Courthouse. Is there such thing?
Bob Peterson
Joplin, Mo.

Response from the Fix-It Shop:
Because the sets on the show changed over the years, you won't find one definitive map of the layout of Mayberry. But you'll probably find pretty much what you're looking for in Steve Spignesi's encyclopedic Mayberry, My Hometown. He put together a computer-generated layout of the town based on several episodes With lots of good shots of the town. Steve includes blueprints (including the placement of furniture and fixtures) of key buildings such as the Taylor home and the Courthouse.

For a generalized view of what the geography of Mayberry County might look like (based on things said, the maps in the Courthouse and actual North Carolina geography), the Beck Clark Andy Griffith Show Book includes a county map rendering that may be useful to you. (And, say, we just happen to carry both of these books at everyday low prices in The Bullet.)

Response from the Fix-It Shop:
Emmett knew to turn to Mayberry trivia fanatic Paul Mulik for this question because he's also a choir director. The hymn is titled "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning" by Philip e Bliss (1838-1876). The first verse and refrain are: Brightly beams our Fathers mercy from his lighthouse evermore/But to us be gives the keeping of the lights along the shore. Refrain: Let the lower fights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!/Some poor fainting struggling seaman you may rescue, you may save.

You can bet that gospel music lover Andy Griffith Was responsible for selecting this tune for use in the Mayberry scene.

Dear Fix-It Shop:
I was wondering if you know the name of the painting that hangs over the Taylor fireplace in many of the episodes of TACS (it s a farmer in a field)?
Bob Pfaff
Winston-Salem, N.C

Response from the Fix-It Shop:
Paul remembered what this was, too. (Emmett had forgotten.) It's called "The Angelus, 1859" by French artist Jean Francois Millet (1811875). A similar work by Millet is called "The Gleaners". Prints of these paintings were not uncommon in American house-holds during the first half of this century. We know only one person who still has one of these prints, but if we hear of a source for any more, we'll pass along the word.

Dear Fix-It Shop:
Are there epilogues at the end of the color episodes of TAGS, and are these episodes available to the public?
Rick Slabaugh
Sebring, Ohio

Response from the Fix-It Shop:
Now, don't get us started on that one again, Rick! Yes, there are (or were) epilogues for the color episodes (the last 90 episodes, which make up the last three seasons of the show). But as with the black-and-white episodes, the epilogues (those cherished TAGS tags at the end of the episodes) are usually missing from the versions shown by stations in reruns. (They're cut out to make room for more commercials. Uh-oh, you got us started again.)

Only a small handful of the color episodes have been released on the licensed videos. It seems that about the time the licensed manufacturers get to the point where they might be ready to release more of the color episodes (that is, after they've released all of the black-and-whites), their license is not renewed When a new license is issued to a manufacturer. production begins with the black-and-whites again. but maybe someday the entire series will be available and with epilogues. That's the dream, anyway!