I had today’s column written four days ago, but I didn’t know Andy was going to die. So, you will get to hear me bitch some more about religion this coming Wednesday. Today is for Andy Rooney. I was lucky to live in a time of great man who never took his own greatness too seriously.
I don’t recall Andy Rooney ever saying anything all that deep. I just remember him making me feel more like myself. I’ll never forget his advice on how to celebrate New Year’s Eve 1999: “Go home and go to bed.” Andy was constantly telling us to stop putting so much pressure on ourselves to have fun. Just enjoy the moment you are in.
My other favorite piece by Andy was how much he hated vacations. I’m embedding the video here.
I know there is plenty of sarcasm and irony in his words. But I think he’s dead serious in the end. The irony doubles back again into a triple irony. He really does despise vacations.
And I do, too. I don’t remember my last vacation. I’ll admit that I had a 24-hour vacation back in June when our Other Wife came to stay with Tessa while I went out into the prairie to watch some friends of mine play a rock concert in their airplane hangar like they did twenty and thirty years ago. It was living history, and I couldn’t miss it. But I was ready to go home after twenty hours.
Truth is, I work non-stop, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I actually get paid to sleep. Tessa uses a ventilator at night, and if I don’t wake up when she needs me, she has a button in her hand that will call the cops and wake my sorry ass up. It actually happened once. Swear to God.
I’m so addicted to work that my principal at my last teaching job said that he wasn’t going to renew my contract because I was spread too thin. He knew I liked taking care of Tessa better than I liked teaching. Besides, two months after that contract expired, Tessa got a ventilator stomach tube and needed full-time care anyway. It was like an answer to a really perverse prayer.
If I could follow in anyone’s footsteps it would be Andy Rooney’s. Oh, hell, I don’t want to live 92 years or anything. And my eyebrows are big enough just as they are. But I would love to give others the same satisfaction he gave me by just making me feel okay. I’m working on it. And I think I do a pretty good Andy Rooney impression already. Yes, there is audio at that link.
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Angie recently posted..It’s all the news you need. Because I said so.
He’s a true writer. And a master. Wanna write? Watch Andy.
Give ‘em hell in Heaven Andy.
THAT will get anybody tossed out. (Halo, wings and harp confiscated too)
If I were god recently posted..And so we build
Bless his heart. I think he had a great life and did it his way. What more could you ask? The man was an institution.
Linda Medrano recently posted.."Just Like Your Father"
I dont have much of a take on Andy but I do believe in vacations as almost a religion! For me seeing as much of the world as I can while I can is crazy important… so my wish for you is to somehow hit the Publishers Clearing house prize and travel!!!
Steve Bailey recently posted..The Wedding Proposal Post
Thank you! We have always wanted to see Venice. The streets aren’t too bumpy there, we hear.
Damn. I didn’t know he’d passed till I read this. I loved listening to him complain. God bless ‘im, he could bitch about anything.
That show won’t be the same without him.
I’ve never taken a vacation, either. I’ve taken vacation days/leave from work/Army, but used them/it to catch up on stuff at home. If I won the lottery, I think I’d book a month at some expensive hotel with a balcony, and just sit there soaking till I had to come home.
catnapping recently posted..Love in the Doilies
Well, look who’s back! Everyone, this is one of my longest friends in blogging. And one of the most original graphic artists you’ll find. Check her out.
How could anyone not like vacations? I must assume he was anti-orgasm as well.
If I were god recently posted..And so we build
No. No. No. The orgasm is like a very quick vacation, see. You can get your batteries recharged in much shorter time. People like Andy and me are VERY pro-orgasm.
I never saw him, but his philosophy seems sound. As for enjoying vacations, maybe you need to arrange one where you’re put to work. I think they need volunteers at archaeological sites.
Gorilla Bananas recently posted..Deceptive behaviour
Seriously, this December, I’m making arrangements to go and do some dormant pruning at a winery nearby. That’s a vacation, to me.
Andy was one of my heroes. He lived life on his terms, did things his way, and had a unique way of speaking his mind in a way that made you like him even when you disagreed with whatever he was saying. I think Angie said it best in her comment – “While I don’t want to live to be 92, I certainly want to get to that point in life where I see the good where it’s good and the crap where it’s crap and I don’t feel bad about saying it.”
He’ll be missed.
Jeff D’Antonio recently posted..Passion…
It’s hard to find anybody walking around these days who was in combat in WWII. He was just such a rare thing. We were lucky to know him.
But..
But…
I LIVE to vacate. I mean… vacation.
Although I agree about the too much eating. And I could NEVER talk too much!!
Stephanie C | Seriously? Really? Seriously!? recently posted..I Am Mutant… Hear Me Roar!
Honestly, I always felt if I ran into Andy he was going to take a ruler to my hand. Yep, dude sort of scared me or at least always made me feel I was a touch to near to getting caught in trouble…and I like to be far from caught. Or maybe I just like vacation a bit too much. Anyway, this is a lovely tribute and your adoration and devotion to Tessa is beautiful. Truly!
jeane recently posted..The Rum is better without the diary…