The Ghost of Andy Rooney
It pains me to do this, but it has been on my mind for a year, now and I must discharge it. Maybe half America might consider him a hero and that part does not know him.
Read his book, "My War," and awaken to the dark side of Mr Rooney, the young, idealistic reporter ruined by the horrors of war, two missions in B-17s dumping bombs over Germany, his disgust and beratement of General Patton ("blowhard"), his own admission of Socialism and flirtation with Communism.
As I think back over his long career on 60 Minutes at the end of each broadcast, his short segments were devoted to telling how chocolate bars were short-changing us a few ounces and charging us more....." now, why do they do that?"
Or, the Ashtabula Ohio Water Company just raised rates .02 cents and forgot to tell us - "why are they so sneaky? -- Geez," he says.
His heroes, he reports were the front line guys, shot full of holes returning on stretchers without fanfare, and he's right, of course. The 8th Air Force had more casualties than anybody else on the plant-Army, Navy, Marines - add them all up, and they still didn't suffer what the 8th had, it was that bad.
Andy didn't mention that in his book.
He criticized Frank Reynolds and Harry Reasoner (so many foolish choices in his life) long after they were gone, so I know he won't mind me taking this poetic license.
I believe Rooney was so destroyed by the war, that he came back to America to right what HE THOUGHT were wrongs. That's all he did for the rest of his life - piss in the soup.
And when he died, it showed on his face: one unhappy man. He missed a big chance, a chance to live out his life and be happy, every day was a gift, and somewhere, down deep, I think he missed that boat - every day. He watched that ship leave without him.
I saw that special with him in it, about his life.
That was very sad.
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Read his book, "My War," and awaken to the dark side of Mr Rooney, the young, idealistic reporter ruined by the horrors of war, two missions in B-17s dumping bombs over Germany, his disgust and beratement of General Patton ("blowhard"), his own admission of Socialism and flirtation with Communism.
As I think back over his long career on 60 Minutes at the end of each broadcast, his short segments were devoted to telling how chocolate bars were short-changing us a few ounces and charging us more....." now, why do they do that?"
Or, the Ashtabula Ohio Water Company just raised rates .02 cents and forgot to tell us - "why are they so sneaky? -- Geez," he says.
His heroes, he reports were the front line guys, shot full of holes returning on stretchers without fanfare, and he's right, of course. The 8th Air Force had more casualties than anybody else on the plant-Army, Navy, Marines - add them all up, and they still didn't suffer what the 8th had, it was that bad.
Andy didn't mention that in his book.
He criticized Frank Reynolds and Harry Reasoner (so many foolish choices in his life) long after they were gone, so I know he won't mind me taking this poetic license.
I believe Rooney was so destroyed by the war, that he came back to America to right what HE THOUGHT were wrongs. That's all he did for the rest of his life - piss in the soup.
And when he died, it showed on his face: one unhappy man. He missed a big chance, a chance to live out his life and be happy, every day was a gift, and somewhere, down deep, I think he missed that boat - every day. He watched that ship leave without him.
I saw that special with him in it, about his life.
That was very sad.
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More on CBS favorite comic - the late, great, Andy Rooney
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