I miss Andy Rooney. For those of you who aren’t old, Andy was a “reporter”/reoccurring character on a show called 60 Minutes. 60 Minutes - which I just, remarkably, found out is still actually on TV - was a show that myself and my parents watched when I was a kid. It was a sort of poor man’s NewsHour; an hour long news show that would do long form news articles about topics which were topical but not immediate. If it was on now - and I guess it is! - it would probably cover the opioid epidemic a lot. Anyway, as a sort of comic relief, they had this guy Andy Rooney. He looked and acted like a cartoon character; kind of like the Grandpa on the Simpsons; slightly befuddled by life, a little bit anachronistic and mildly sarcastic but loving and gentle. He was what we are were inside; occasionally confused by life but desirous of being kind towards it. He was grumpy, but not overly grumps. He liked people a lot, although he often didn’t like what they did. I’ll see if I can link some video clips or at least a picture of him here. I used to do a pretty good Andy Rooney imitation; his worldview aligns well with mind which made it easy. He would often get on a good rant and then pause and then say “and another thing,” and often behind the “other thing” was a deep philosophical nugget that would leave you thinking for days.
He died a while back, and I miss him. The world needs Andy Rooney right now. RIP.
