The Taylors' Front Porch
Pull up a chair! Have a sit-down an' shoot the breeze with us. Later on, maybe we'll go down to the drugstore to get a bottle of pop .  .  . maybe see what's showin' at the Grand .  .  .  . What you gonna do tonight, Barn?

July 17, 2026 - Msg 121503: Oops!Sorry friends,I hit the button twice!
July 18, 2026 - Msg 121504:

That may be KYgirl, but the second one did a nice sweep!
A good "swish: of Spot's tail! ha Maybe next summer we can get you to
come to the Mayberry Meet Up!
Big Maude, thank you for the update. Modern medical procedures
are quite amazing, except for those hicks who are still
"living in another world!" :)
So glad that he is doing good, as I'm sure that you two hope to be at the meet-Up!.
BTW, I am surprized that no one mentioned the passing of Randolph Mantooth,
AKA Johnny Gage on Emergency. I know he's not TAGS, but we have talked
about other shows from time to time. KMG 365 :( In fact, several celbrties
have died recently.
All else is going well. I spent several days in Northern AZ relaxing in the pines.
That was nice, or as Andy would say..."very, very nice."
BOO- I hope retirement is doing you good.
I spoke on the phone with pappabear the other day. He is still with us, but ailin' more
these days. He does say Hey to everyone tho.
Hey to ALL!
Prayers for all,
MDC
July 18, 2026 - Msg 121505: 🧹 💨 💨 💨 👍🏻
July 18, 2026 - Msg 121506: Thanks for the update, Maude. So happy to hear things went so well.

Yes MDC, retirement is good but I can't quite figure out how I am more busy now than before! Its crazy.
I went to Corpus Christi with Bruce yesterday to the ear doctor and they are doing the preliminary medical clearance, etc. to get his surgery scheduled for the cochlear implant. Doc said it should be at end of august/early september. They will do the right ear and then six months later, the left. We are very excited about it. His hearing is basically gone at this point and he reads lips only. It is so tough to try and communicate with him now.

Well, Bruce's sister Linda and her husband are in town from out of state and we will meet with her and family at a restaurant in town tomorrow. Other than that, it has been a fairly uneventful weekend (which is fine with me).

How is the weather for everyone? It is typical for us but supposed to get hotter next week.

Boo
July 20, 2026 - Msg 121507: Glad you got to get away for a little bit MDC.Yes,maybe I can get to the Mayberry meet up next year.Boo,I understand about still being busy even though you are retired.I am the same way.But,the good thing is I am not still punching a time clock. Good to hear Bruce is going to get his implants.That has to be so frustrating for him just reading lips.Our air quality is better than it was .I haven't watched the news lately so,I haven't heard if the wildfires are under control.I will try to stop by later ,take care friends-ky girl
July 24, 2026 - Msg 121508: Hey Gang….Coming to you LIVE from the Mayberry Meet-Up, Thursday a small group of us came early. We watched some episodes of TAGS and are setting up for the weekend activities.

MDC…Julie is here too and said to tell you HEY 👋🏻 as does Miss Mayberry too! Hopefully the weather will cooperate for us…

Before the evening event we will have our Mayberry Cronie Chapters Annual “Meet & Eat at a local restaurant which has a meeting room for us to get together…Sure beats the corner room at the “Y” Vienna sausage special served on a paper plate….

Yep definitely a fun weekend…..Much like Barney’s Vacation…
https://youtu.be/9w0tdTxPPrE

Goober Fife 10-4 Over & Out…..

July 24, 2026 - Msg 121509: ky girl, I am in Southwestern Ohio, not too far north of Cincinnati. I can't say the smoke is an issue here, although it shore is messing up my sunrise picture taking on the golf course. I typically put together a calendar of the best shots. You can see a marked difference in the last couple years. Just far less color than before the fires started. I guess we're far enough south that it's not too bad for breathing, although they do often mention the issue on the news.

Billy Ray the Retired Postman
July 24, 2026 - Msg 121510:

Howdy Porchsters! Well, the heat is definitely on here like it is in a lot
of the country. It was 116 today and may reach 118 on Saturday! That's
dang hot! But thats also Phx in July!
GF-- I will indeed miss the fellowship of the meet up. Thanks for saying HEY
to everyone for me, especially Lydia, Miss Mayberry, Floyd, and Julie! :)
It's kinda neat to know exactly where you all met for dinner! ha
Regarding Barney's vacation, I like the one with the letter about the
waitresses! haha I am sending you an email with a pic from my
scrapbook/photo album of the "Welcome" deal that Miss Mayberry gave me last
year. Please show it to her. Thanks.
BOO--Yes, I seem busier in 'retirement' also, tho a lot of it is volunteer
work. I know you are still visiting that lady, and you also have little
one sometimes. So happy to hear about Bruce's impending surgery!
KYGIRL, I hope the smoke is dissipating. That must be hard on the ol' lungs!
All is ok here, tho I wish I was still up in the cool pines of northern
AZ! It would be neat if you, boo, Possum and i could go to the next meet-up!
Billy Ray, be careful out there. So cool, however, that you get to see
those 'links' everyday! :)
All foR now. APB FOR CHARLOTTE, NN, SPOTTY AND ALL!
mdc


July 26, 2026 - Msg 121511: Someone tell Canada to put out those fires! We are all hot enough already. ;)
Glad everyone seems to be doing well. It has been hot here, as usual, but we are making it ok. Bruce has to pace himself on the yardwork and take frequent breaks.

Thanks, MDC, we are excited about Bruce's cochlear implant surgery for sure.
Yes, I still see my favorite ex patient weekly and keep Jonah at least twice a week. I had him today from 6:30am to 2pm and I am tired. Honestly, it has been really good for me in so many ways. I move more and am getting my arms stronger from lifting him. Today, we had an interesting situation with him. He turns 1 next month and crawls faster than lightening (not quite walking yet). We have a very steep stairwell kind of behind the kitchen near the laundry room and he has not shown any interest in it..until today! I told Sean to watch Jonah for a minute while I went to the bathroom. It was only about 15 seconds and I was back. Well, I didnt see him in the kitchen where I left him so walked around to the laundry room to see if he was Sean. Thats when I saw him! He had climbed four stairs already and with those steep stairs, that was about five feet up. I remained calm and got close enough to catch him to see if he could make his way down. He turned around and very carefully navigated those stairs all the way down. I was glad he was able to do that but that is a really long, steep staircase so Bruce is going to put up a gate this week. I swear those little ones can get into big trouble in literally seconds and this one is on the move! Fast little critter. So cute, though. Today I was holding him and he turned and put his chubby little face about two inches from mine, looked into my eyes and kissed me. Boy, that will sure melt your heart!

Well, think I will relax for a bit before bedtime.
Love to all,
Boo
July 26, 2026 - Msg 121512: Sorry to subject you all to all my grandparent ravings but the truth is, I know that if the Lord gives me years ahead, I will be able to look back on what I wrote. I do that now and then, search the archives and read about shananigans the kids got into, etc.

Boo
July 26, 2026 - Msg 121513:

Boo, you are a bird in this world!! :)
Yes, that was a close call, but I just gotta ask...where was Sean! ha!
And if I may say, a 15 second bathroom trip may be a record!! ha again!
Oh, and happy Grandparents Day to you and all our porch grandmas and
grampas!!
G-F... when you get a chance, please give us a recap of the meet-up.
I saw on some facebook posts that the Snappy Lunch was open this year!
And JULIE, any poem this year? Please share it if you did one. Thx.
More later,
MDC
July 27, 2026 - Msg 121514: Hey Gang, back from the Meet-Up we all had a great time! Both Thursday & Friday’s outdoor activities were shortened by rain 🌧...Saturday was PERFECT! It wasn’t too hot and no rain at all...👍

Saturday afternoon there was a event at the Museum that Julie helped with, I’ll let her tell y’all about it...

Tired as a dog 🐕 but had the time of my life. * In my best Gomer voice!......G-F
July 29, 2026 - Msg 121515:

APB FOR JULIE! :)
mdc


July 29, 2026 - Msg 121516: Well,I'm not Julie,but ol possum showed up! Figured I better check in before y'all get a posse up!
Thanks for every prayer. I'm hanging in there, staying very busy with Laci but we have a lot of fun and sweet moments, just like Boo and Jonah.
Laci's mama is doing well,she is off of all the prescription meds that had her " Nuts". She has an intake appointment in less than 2 weeks with the VA housing folks. Hopefully it won't be long before they find housing for her,for us,because Laci and I are going with her.
I woke up twice during the night and both times found Mr. Possum standing out on the porch. His explanation was first time he " heard something ",2nd time ,his hand was hurting so he had to move around. At 2am and 5am. Good grief. Y'all,I just can't deal with it. His people are going to have to step up and care for him because I cannot.
Another trip around the sun for me tomorrow. Boy,does the time go?!
Then Boo gets another candle on her cake the next day,so we will have to celebrate with our annual Big Birthday Bash this weekend! Someone check and see if O'Malley is out of town!!
Take care ,all and have a Mayberry kind of day.

************
possum u.a.r
July 30, 2026 - Msg 121517:

HI ALL! G-F forwarded this email from Floyd that he sent to the Meet-up folks,
so I thought I would also post it here for y'all to see, and
as I said earlier above, Lord willing, I hope several of us
porchsters can go next year! :) MDC
FROM FLOYD:
"Thank you to everyone who had a part in the solid auction and the raffle. It really does mean a lot that you take your time and donate it to create items to sell or to do the work needed setting up and taking down the auction and raffle. So many take their vacation time to do stuff that's not required but it is much appreciated.

Y'all raised right at $800 to help keep the podcast and other Mayberry things I'm involved in going and it is very helpful. Thank you. I did provide about $300 to the Mayberry Motor Inn to cover the expense of the porta potties that were on hand. The Motor Inn is so gracious and letting us use their location and I do not want to be a drag on them and their business so I felt it only fitting to cover their expenses using some of the money raised.

The weekend was great and Saturday night turned out to be beautiful. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did."



July 30, 2026 - Msg 121518:

Hey y'all, today is our POSSUM'S birthday!!
And BOO's is coming up fast, so as Possum said,
let's make for O'Malley's! I've got the candles to swing it! :)
MDC


July 31, 2026 - Msg 121519: Thanks,MDC! Yep,another candle on my cake yesterday. And Happy Birthday to Boo today!!
Boy,that's a lot of candles between the 2 of us- ha!
We'll have to party out at O'Malley this weekend. Spotty,bring some celebration elixir and a fire extinguisher for all them candles!,

************
possum u.a.r
August 01, 2026 - Msg 121520: Is there a link to do a one time donation to Allan Newsome and his efforts? I dont use Patreon but would still like to help out. Thanks in advance..

-JHendrix
August 01, 2026 - Msg 121521: Well, I sure thought I was on here yesterday but apparently not. Sorry I missed Possum's BD but I did talk to her on facebook messenger yesterday. Our sweet Possum is going through one of the most challenging times in her life and I know she won't mind me telling you she really needs our prayers and encouragement. We love you Possum!

My birthday was a good one. St Susan came over in the morning for coffee and conversation, and she brought me two candles from bath and body works, which I love. She also gave me a very pretty wax warmer/lamp and some of my favorite instant coffee packets. She knows me so well.
After she left I made a strawberry cake with strawberry cream cheese icing for little Emily (St Susan's granddaughter) for her birthday (can you believe little Emily is now 19?!). She requested I make it for her so of course I did. Wish you could all see her now. She is a beautiful, soft-spoken young lady. She has some challenges with both her parents but my sister and her husband are there for her always. She will start college courses in the fall. I am concerned that she already has a longterm boyfriend for two years now that she is too serious about. He seems like a nice kid but she is already talking about marriage. Emily's mom married her first husband very early and it was a disaster, then went on to marry susan's son Matthew too early and that turned out to be a disaster, too, Emily has not had great role models in her parents but i could write a novel on that. She has had susan and her husband, and Bruce and me so hopefully that has helped. We all love her very much and she has been through so much. She has chronic anxiety and stomach issues from it, bless her. Broken parents and their broken relationships can cause so many problems in the children, as we all know.

Yesterday evening we went to eat at a BBQ place I like and Erin came with little Jonah. He was a handful at first but calmed down and sat in the little booster seat and ate. He only wants his Gram to hold him and he had not seen me in a few days so you know how that went. I just love him to pieces. So, it was a good day.

Bruce and I are about to head to the hospital to see his younger sister Vicki who is in renal failure. I think they will be able to get her back on her feet after flushing her kidneys but she went from stage 3 to stage 4 renal failure in a hurry to some tests need to be done to find out why and how to best treat her.
Interesting about Vicki if you have time to read; Vicki was the sis in law that gave me the most drama and trouble while she was a drug addict. We discussed her here often years ago. You guys helped me through some tough times with her. She is also the one who basically died from a drug overdose, was brought back and was pronounced brain dead and schedule for organ harvesting when she woke up on Christmas Eve. Shocked the entire hospital. The docs and nurses were coming from everywhere to see her. It was quite a christmas miracle. Anyway, she got better but continued with her addiction, finally ending up in jail. That's when things really changed. She stopped using and has been clean now for several years. She has been in counseling and has improved so much that she has been back in our lives for years and has been a big support. We have fun with her and I just enjoy her being a part of our lives now. Well, her health is suffering from the damage done by the drugs and that is sad. I think she can continue to live for awhile before dialysis if she does what she is supposed to do. We are hoping.

Well, better scoot. nice talking to you all.

Boo


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This version of The Taylor's Front Porch has been created to pay our respect to the original porch found on Mayberry.org. Thanks to Frank for all the work he did for Mayberry on the web. We've tried to make this just like Frank's Porch. This is also a tribute to Ollie's "Trivialities" site which was another homage to Frank's porch but is no longer with us.