Christopher Wemp Period 3 May 17, 2005

and more by Andy Rooney

Andy Rooney is a recognized ig!re "ho reads his short essays at the end o each session o the #$%$ sho" &'0 Min!tes($ )is essays are *no"n to be en+oyab,e and interesting$ #he boo* - read tit,ed and more by Andy Rooney s.!eezed in a staggering amo!nt o short essays into one boo*$ /!t does the boo* ,i0e !p to Rooney1s #$%$ rep!tation2 -n my opinion, it bypasses the rep!tation in ,ying co,ors$ 3or any type o boo* to be s!ccess !,, a good, "e,, ro!nded 0ocab!,ary sho!,d be !sed$ 3i0e good "ords o!nd in and more by Andy Rooney "ere con+!nction, inhibited, acade, eminent, and shoddy$ Con+!nction, prono!nced conjunction , is simp,y the act o +oining$ -nhibited, prono!nced inhibited, means to ho,d bac* or to restrain$ 3acade, prono!nced facade, is !nderstood to be an arti icia, or decepti0e ront$ 4minent, prono!nced as eminent, is to to"er or stand o!t abo0e others$ 5hoddy, prono!nced shoddy, is "hen something is made o or containing in erior and cheap materia,$ Among the tho!sands o "ords in the boo* "ere "ords that enriched the story$ #en good "ords - disco0ered "ere miserab,e, ca0orting, 0ast, disobedient, atrocities, composition, desperados, beho,der, retrospect, and minority$ #he 0ocab!,ary "as p,aced 0ery "e,, thro!gho!t the short essays$ /eca!se o the nat!re o the set!p o the boo*, - ha0e chosen to respond to short essays in di erent "ays rather than attempting to disc!ss a p,ot that isn1t there$

#he irst section o the boo* is ca,,ed &Made /y )and($ -n the essay &#he 6,d %io,in(, Rooney te,,s o ho" e0eryone has a specia, ob+ect that they "o!,dn1t ,et go o or anything in the "or,d$ #he concept is tr!e, or many peop,e ha0e items that they "o!,dn1t thro" a"ay or the ,i e o them$ 40en i an o,d, ine icient hammer ,ies in the d!st and dirt o a too,bo7 or years, it probab,y "i,, not get thro"n a"ay "hen disco0ered by the o"ner$ Why2 Probab,y beca!se it "as the irst hammer the person e0er !sed, it "as an aid in b!i,ding a ce,ebrities ho!se, etc$ #he ,ist goes on and on$ Rooney ta*es the ordinary and t!rns it into the !nordinary in &/atht!bs($ -n the essay, he disc!sses o "hy batht!bs are the in0ention o yesterday$ 3rom t!b rings and s,ippery s!r aces to attaining the right "ater temperat!re, Andy di0es deep into the recesses o batht!b n!isances and comes o!t "ith a ine,y "ritten essay$ A reason "hy and more by Andy Rooney is s!ch a p,eas!re to read is beca!se o the seeming,y random e0ents and topics o his essays$ 8e0er "i,, yo! *no" "hat "i,, happen ne7t or ho" an essay "i,, end$ A,, the premises o good "riting are present in Rooney1s "or*9 the hoo*, the thesis, and "e,, de0e,oped paragraphs a,, "or*ing together to capt!re a reader1s interest$ #he ne7t section o the boo* is tit,ed &6,d 3riends($ )o"e0er, o,d riends are perhaps the !rthest tho!ghts rom Rooney1s mind "hen he "rote the irst essay in this section$ #he essay, tit,ed &8eat Peop,e(, "as a straight or"ard "riting o ho" Rooney did not ,i*e neat peop,e$ Rooney, being a rather messy person himse, :he admits to it in his essay;, co!,dn1t he,p b!t sho" +ea,o!s,y to"ards those "ho had it together in the "ay o organization$ -1m s!re the essay reached o!t to h!ndreds o readers as "e,,$ -t m!st be

a,most e0eryone1s dream to be ab,e to get rid o ha, the st! they don1t need$ /!t they thin* they1,, !se it sometime, so it1s thro"n bac* into the c,oset$ - *no" - can certain,y re,ate$ &#he C,oset( is another c,assic e7amp,e o a ai,ed attempt to be organized$ When - open my ha, o the c,oset in the bedroom :- share the room "ith my brother, so the c,oset is di0ided in ha, ;, a pose myse, aggressi0e,y, ready to dodge o!t o the "ay i an ob+ect comes crashing do"n$ 8orma,,y - don1t ha0e to dodge or my ,i e, b!t the to"er o things in the c,oset is dangero!s,y "obb,y$ - thin* - "i,, go thro!gh it, +!st ,i*e Andy Rooney "i,,, "hen - ee, ,i*e it$ - ha0e o ten a,,en in ,o0e "ith the taste o a ood$ - ,i*e it so m!ch that - "ish to seize the top secret recipe and ma*e it or myse, $ #here ore, - "i,, ne0er ha0e to b!y the o0erpriced treats e0er again$ -ce cream is one o those oods$ Whene0er a ne" ha, ga,,on o ice cream appears in the reezer, yo! can be rest ass!red that - am the irst to samp,e the de,icio!s dessert$ /!t ice cream doesn1t ,ast ore0er, so the ha, ga,,on e0ent!a,,y disappears$ #he sad e7perience "hen ,oo*ing at an empty ice cream container is beyond "ords$ Rooney has e,t the same emotions, and there ore attempted to ma*e his o"n ice cream$ -n the ne7t section o his boo* tit,ed &4ating and <i0ing(, the essay &-ce Cream( dea,s "ith Rooney1s ad0ent!res o inding and testing 0ario!s ice cream recipes$ &=on!ts( a,so e7emp,i ies Rooney1s ,o0e o ood that is e7treme,y de,icio!s i not n!tritio!s$ With e7amp,es ,e t and right o "hy don!ts are great, Rooney does not ai, to de,i0er$

&Pre+!dices(, the ne7t section o and more by Andy Rooney, !rther e7presses the ta,ented "riting o Andy Rooney$ #he essay &Co,ors( stood o!t to me$ &Co,ors( disc!ssed o certain e7pectations Rooney !nconscio!s,y had "hen it came to "hat co,ors certain ob+ects sho!,d be$ )is main e7amp,e "as "hen he sa" a ye,,o" go, ba,, and immediate,y e,t !ncom ortab,e "ith it$ )e "as !sed to the standard "hite go, ba,, and "anted to ha0e "hat seemed to be acceptab,e$ Rooney, !rther on in the essay, said that he "as saddened ho" ye,,o" had a co"ard,y meaning as in the statement, &A" he "on1t ight> )e1s ye,,o">( &)ot Weather( re erred to Rooney1s pre erence o co,d "eather as opposed to hot$ - agree "ith Andy Rooney1s opinion$ When it1s co,d, one can dress !p in +ac*ets, scar0es, etc$ #hey can *eep app,ying ,ayers !nti, they are "arm$ /!t "hat is one s!pposed to do "hen it is hot2 Most peop,e don1t ha0e a pri0ate ,a*e to ta*e a di0e in$ Air conditioning costs ,arge s!ms o money, and there aren1t c,othes that ma*e yo! coo,er$ #hat is "hy both me and Andy Rooney ha0e the same ans"er "hen it comes to "hether "e ,i*e it co,d or hot "eather "ise$ &?!estions or the President( "as the on,y section o and more by Andy Rooney that e,t a ,itt,e bit dry$ #he section, composed o o!rteen essays, "as too m!ch in my taste$ - ee, he co!,d ha0e spent more time "ith "riting other essays that "o!,d be more interesting$ - did not ha0e a a0orite essay o this section$ -n act, - did not en+oy this section at a,,$ 3ort!nate,y, Andy Rooney redeemed himse, by "riting another o!tstanding essay i,,ed section ca,,ed &6ccasions($

&5!mmer <ists( te,,s o the ambitions o accomp,ishing great things aro!nd the ho!se$ /e ore s!mmer 0acation, a ,ong ,ist is made o "hat needs to be done aro!nd the ho!se$ #he hedges need to be trimmed, the bac* door1s hinges oi,ed, etc$ 6 co!rse, "hen the time comes aro!nd to act!a,,y per orm the tas*s, it is easy to procrastinate$ Rooney said that he "as in ected by the disease o not "anting to do chores, and that his +obs "o!,d +!st ha0e to "ait !nti, ne7t s!mmer$ &#han*sgi0ing( dea,s "ith the c,ich@ &than*s($ Peop,e !se it so o ten no" that it sometimes seems to ,ose a,, o its meaning$ 5ometimes, it act!a,,y brings on a "ho,e ne" meaning "hen said correct,y$ Rooney pro0ed this thro!gh a h!moro!s e0ent in a s!permar*et$ )a0ing anecdotes ,i*e Rooney1s rea,,y he,p readers re,ate to his artic,es$ someone reads one o his stories and says, &6h, - can comp,ete,y re,ate,( then the essay is a,ready o to a good start$ #he irst essay in the ne7t section tit,ed &Rich and 3amo!s( s!rprising,y didn1t ha0e anything to do "ith ame or "ea,th$ #he essay, "hich t!rned o!t to be a ,arge anecdote, spo*e o Rooney disco0ering a sma,, *itten in his garage and ho" the mother resc!ed it$ Certain,y the mother did a simp,e tas* at most, b!t it sho"ed ho" the cat possessed a ,o0e so great or the *itten that she "o!,d ris* her ,i e or the innocent one$ #he mother cat certain,y "asn1t "ea,thy, b!t the ,o0e she possessed "as rich$ &#ra0e,er1s Chec*s( doesn1t spea* o the !ni0ersa,,y accepted money as m!ch as the horrib,e ee,ing one gets "hen they ,ose something$ - ha0e, !n ort!nate,y, shared the e7perience o ,osing a precio!s ob+ect o mine$ - spent "hat seemed to be ho!rs sco!rging the ho!se, desperate,y hoping that the item "as not gone$ - ina,,y o!nd it, and the ee,ing o re,ie that r!shed into my senses "as an e7perience greater than "ords$

#he ne" section o the boo* ca,,ed &What We =o( composes o se0era, +obA re,ated essays$ My t"o a0orite, tit,ed &/rea*ing in the /oss( and &3ired(, both ha0e ob0io!s,y ha0e to do "ith "or*ing$ &/rea*ing in the /oss( spea*s o Rooney1s ee,ings to"ards a ne" boss he may ha0e$ 6nce again, the essay reaches o!t to a,, those "ho ha0e +obs, or the ears and apprehension that grasp Rooney s!re,y a ect other readers as "e,,$ -1m s!re no one ,i*es to admit to getting ired$ #here can be ,itt,e that is more embarrassing to an ad!,t than to be !nemp,oyed "hen they !sed to be prospero!s in their ,ine o "or*$ Andy Rooney, in his essay &3ired( disc!sses "hat he "o!,d ee, ,i*e i he "as e0er ired$ Whi,e - cannot re,ate to the essay since - don1t ha0e a +ob, -1m s!re tho!sands o readers can easi,y ind an !nder,ying message in the essay that has to do "ith "or*ing$ &4ndings(, the ina, section o the co,,ection o short stories, spea*s o peop,e that died$ Rooney te,,s his ee,ings o the death o Bohn <ennon and his m!ch ,o0ed mother$ Whi,e the tit,e o the section seems appropriate or the end o a boo*, - "ish Rooney had chosen to end his ,arge co,,ection o stories on a s,ight,y ,ighter note$ Andy Rooney has tr!,y earned his name in the "or,d o "riting$ /eing a "riter myse, , - can1t he,p b!t admire his !ncanny abi,ity to t!rn the ordinary into the !nordinary thro!gh his ingenio!s essays$ - - "ere in his position, - "o!,d contin!e to carry on by "riting more engrossing stories, and hope !,,y match the ,e0e, o pro essiona,ism Rooney has capt!red$