Andy Rooney

摘要

In 19671 managed to get into China during the Cultural Revolution to film a documentary. When I got back, I got a telegram from Andy Rooney, who died Nov. 4 at 92. It was a really sweet, generous accolade, and I met him the next day for the first time. As a writer, he had a remarkable eye for finding that one word or one detail that resonates with a large audience. That really was his gift—the ability to write or speak to people—that struck a chord, even if they disagreed with him. When most of us write, there's a pause between the thought and hitting those keys. One reason Andy got into trouble sometimes was that what ignited his brain was immediately transmitted onto paper or into a microphone. He used to come into my office once a week, sit down on the sofa and say precisely the same thing for the last 30 years: "When are you going to clean this dump up?" And he should talk, because he had a pretty damn messy office too.