Andy Rooney: My Nominee for "The Man with the Easiest Job in the World"

I have to begin by confessing: I kind of like Andy Rooney. I know a little about his long and sometimes distinguished history as a journalist (going back to his reportage for the "Stars and Stripes" during WWII), author (I have read and reviewed several of his books) and, currently best known for his brief - sometimes witty, sometimes profound, and indeed sometimes trite commentaries in the final moments of CBS's phenomenally successful and long-lived TV news magazine, "60 Minutes." His senior statesman face and history, punctuated with his over-the-eyes brows and somehow well-dressed yet still obviously (and, I expect, deliberately cultivated) rumpled overall appearance, come together with the evident joy he experiences in getting our attention while he talks about whatever is on his mind for a few minutes each week. It is for this last point, his ability to earn a living - a VERY GOOD living - talking about everything and anything he wants to that has earned him my nomination in this important category of awards and acknowledgments. I suppose it could be argued that I have the same 'freedom' here - but I don't and can't make a living at it! Andy, clearly, has the easiest job in the world.

I must also admit that my nomination is motivated, in part, by my incredible envy of his situation. If I could have put the preceding sentence in green, I certainly would have done so.

Anything. Anything at all. If I were Andy and had a little tad of indigestion before the taping of my weekly piece, it might come out something like this: