"You don't sweat much for a fat girl."

Kindhearted, Goober is always willing to help out a person in need. Goober‘s affiliations included membership in The Regal Order of the Golden Door to Good Fellowship; a singer in the town choir; and the manager of Mayberry’s Little League baseball team (“The Giants”).

His cousin, Gomer Pyle also works at Wally’s Filling Station (he later joined the Marines). Gomer admired his cousin and once defended him saying “My cousin Goober ain’t stupid. He’s ugly, but he ain’t stupid.“ Coincidentally, Goober’s father also operated a gas station. And after working 11 and 3/4 years at Wally’s Fillin’ Station, Goober eventually purchased the station and became the proprietor (with financial backing from Andy and friends).

In his spare time, Goober likes to hang around the courthouse and chat with local sheriff Andy Taylor. Andy has deputized Goober on occasion to help out in a pinch. Once Andy even deputized Goober's cousin, Gomer who proceeded to cry "Citizen's Arrest! Citizen's Arrest!" when he saw Deputy Barney Fife perform an illegal U-turn on Main Street.

Now sometimes Goober can be irritating, but once he got so obnoxious that people in town began to avoid him. This occurred when he returned from a hunting trip wearing a beard he grew while in the woods. When someone mentioned that his new whiskers made Goober look intelligent and professorial, the remark went to Goober's pea-brained head and soon he began to act the part of a know-it-all philosopher sage. But his unsolicited advice and tidbits of personal wisdom soon distanced Goober from all of his friends. Luckily, Goober came to his senses, shaved off his beard and went back to pumping gas and reading comic books.

"Goober says hey."

One of Goober's biggest goofs occurred when he promised to answer the courthouse phone while Andy Taylor was out of town. Unfortunately, Gillie Walker, one of Goober's customers complained about the performance of his car engine. So, to kill two birds with one stone Goober disassembled the car and rebuilt it inside the courthouse to work on it. That way he could help his customer and keep his promise to Andy. When Andy returned and found an entire car sitting inside the lobby of the jail, he was furious, but it all turned out for the best, in the end. Luckily, some state patrolmen who unexpectedly visited the jail saw the car and instead of being shocked,  thought the car was part of a clever "safe driving campaign" They praised Andy for his imagination and initiative and contemplated copying the idea.  However, Andy was still furious at Goober, who quickly removed the car from the premises.

Another boo-boo committed by Goober happened when he mistakenly issued a bogus $200.00 prize-winning ticket during his "Grab-bag for Cash" contest. When Floyd Lawson won the grand prize ticket but Goober couldn't pay off, Floyd complained to Sheriff Andy Taylor who then arrested Goober on fraud charges. But when Floyd saw his friend behind bars, he quickly insisted that Andy release Goober from jail.

When Sheriff Andy Taylor (who once introduced Goober as "Goober Beasley") moved out of Mayberry, Goober befriended newcomer Sam Jones, a gentleman farmer who moved to town and became an elected member of the town council. While Andy was no longer around, Goober could still visit with Andy's aunt Bee Taylor who moved into Sam Jones house to become his housekeeper and a second-mother, of sorts, to Sam's young son, Mike.

One spot both Sam and Goober shared in common was Emmett's Fix-it Shop. They visited with handyman Emmett Clark to watch him work and to discuss the town's going's on. Before Emmett moved into town, Goober hung out with Andy Taylor at Floyd's Barber Shop, a longtime gathering spot for the town locals. Floyd sold his office space to Emmett before leaving Mayberry.

When Goober's cousin, Gomer left the Marines, he moved back to Mayberry and the two became partners in the filling station. And a few years after that Andy Taylor, too, moved  back to town and became Sheriff once again. And it took no time at all until Goober and Gomer renewed their friendship with Andy and began to turn up at the courthouse to shoot the breeze, to share the town gossip and to drive Deputy Barney Fife crazy with their antics.   

So, the next time you're in North Carolina, y'all drop by and chew the fat with Goober and his cousin, Gomer. Most likely you'll find them wiping grease off their hands with an old rag and squabbling over how to best repair an engine.  And while you're at the filling station grab yourself a Nectarine Crush or Huckleberry Smash soda pop. As town barber Floyd Lawson, used to say (they've) “got the best pop in town.”

George Lindsey's Nashville Comedy Album (Capitol Records)