By Rosie Moore

Do you remember Andy Rooney from Sixty Minutes?  I do and I really miss his dry wit and humorous observations. Andy was born in New York City in 1919 and passed away in 2011. He was a Radio and TV writer who he became a Sunday night TV staple in 1978 when he put together a segment for the conclusion of Sixty Minutes, entitled, “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney.” He sat behind a walnut desk (which he built himself) and offered a satirical (some might say “grumpy”; others would say “blunt”) view of trivial everyday themes ranging from umbrellas and  current events to shoelaces and salad dressing. He was also a writer for the “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” and “The Garry Moore show.”However, his career was not without controversy. In 1990 he was suspended for three months for remarking  that too much alcohol, food, drugs, cigarettes, and homosexual unions lead to a premature death. He was  also accused of making racist remarks. He commented that he thought it was “silly” for Native Americans to complain about team mascot names like the Washington Redskins because they’re angry their country was taken away from them. In the 1940s he was arrested for sitting in the back of a segregated bus in protest, and in 2008 he applauded the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States “simply because (Americans) thought he was the best choice.”Be that as it may, this colorful figure left us with quite a few memorable quotes. Here are three of my favorites:“If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.”“The average dog is nicer than the average person.”“I didn’t get old on purpose, it just happened. If you’re lucky, it could happen to you.”I can’t think of anyone who has such a corny attitude towards life in this day and age, except maybe David Letterman. Perhaps we could get him on Sixty Minutes?Thought for the day: Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.    Arnold Glasnow, American humoristSend comments to rosemerrie@att.net. Thank you.