Bonus Road Trip (5 of 10)_ Mayberry to Milwaukee

Today, we look at the distance between Mount Airy, NC, which is the real-life Mayberry as it is where Andy Griffith originally hails from (he is now retired in the North Carolina coastal village of Manteo, a bit far from Mount Airy), and Milwaukee.

Ron Howard, now a film director, was on both "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Happy Days," and hopefully, anyone logging in from somewhere like Karachi, Pakistan, has some familiarity with iconic American tv sitcoms from yesteryear. If not; oh well!

For this, we took the distance between Snappy Lunch in downtown Mount Airy, a town that borders Virginia, and WTMJ (Channel-4, Milwaukee).

And, the answer is:

A) 13 hours

B) 14 hours

C) 15 hours

D) 16 hours

SIDEBAR: We jokingly said that the winner of our "Rabbit Ears Quiz" grand prize was Aysegul Denizli, from Izmir, Turkey. This was a name we had conjured up off the top of our heads. But, there does indeed happen to be a real Aysegul Denizli. She is a marketing executive in Istanbul. What a coincidence?! We certainly hope she doesn't ask for her cat toy (that was the grand prize).

Quote of the Week-Ron Howard

Today we post two quotes from "Happy Days" stars on our two respective blogs. One from Henry Winkler is available at "The Daily Vampire."

Here we quote new grandfather (his daughter the ever-hot Bryce Dallas Howard recently had a child) and AARP Magazine cover guy Ron Howard, who was (of course) Richie Cunnigham.

I must say I went through three pages of quotes from the child star turned movie director (loved "Frost/Nixon, btw), when we suddenly came across this startling one:


"You reach a certain point where you say you're not going to do juvenilles any longer," Ron Howard.

True Confessions (11 of 11 Final Entry)- The Forbidden Fonz

Recently, I sat down to write my memoir of growing up as the son of a Turkish immigrant (my father Mehmet Gokbudak died on my 13th birthday in 1983) in Salem, Va., during the 1970s.

Much of my writing focused on some dark chapters including how my father died of a sudden, abrupt heart attack while I was preparing to go to my junior high school.

But, there were some lighter moments I rediscovered.

Like many immigrant fathers (as well as perhaps Southern Baptists), my father was a bit uptight about how American pop culture was influencing his children. He did not like the way I would 'talk back' to him.

He attributed this to "Happy Days." While there were other shows that we watched which he hated like "Different Strokes," this coming-of-age comedy was public enemy nunmero uno. He really hated Fonzie's catch phrase: "sit on it."

He also saw Tom Bosley's character as a weak, pushover father figure.

So, some time circa 1981, we were actually forbidden to watch "Happy Days" (I wonder if Dick Cheney did this to his children as well).

But, alas my father couldn't win for the show aired in reruns during the afternoons, and of course since it was 'banned,' I was eager to watch it even more. I must have seen the episode where Fonzie jumps the shark six or seven times.

Alas, "Happy Days" has not really stood the test of time though in my view "That '70s Show" was essentially a remake of it, and by no means is it nearly as 'cool' as the original.