Old Simmons and Andy

I have been accused recently of sounding too Andy Rooney-ish. That doesn't really bother me, because I like Andy and enjoy his writings and commentary. Andy Rooney was a war correspondent and wrote for Stars and Stripes during the Second World War. He was one of the six correspondents who flew in the first American bombing raid over Germany and published a memoir in 1997 entitled "My War". I enjoyed this book and have enjoyed most of his writings. That's probably why I sound too Andy Rooney-ish. I've noticed that if you frequently listen to someone or read too much of someone's writings that you begin to sound like them. Have you ever noticed that? That's precisely why I began reading, at an early age, everything that Albert Einstein had ever written. Recently, I have begun listening to Tiger Woods and trying to absorb everything that Jack Nicklaus ever committed to paper.

I hope Chris doesn't get mad at me for recommending another newspaper for you to read. Seriously, I've never been fired from a non-paying job before, so this worries me to a minor degree. I have a great deal of respect for Chris and I'm sure that he'll understand that I'm just trying to help broaden the literary skills of his knowledgeable and erudite readership. The old newspaper, Stars and Stripes, was initiated for and by Union troops during the Civil War. Of interest to us Bloomfield, Indiana residents, the debut paper was printed in a captured printing plant in Bloomfield, Missouri. (For those of you, who are interested, Bloomfield is just down the road from Bernie and Dudley, Missouri and there were 6 skirmishes/battles fought there during the Civil War.) Publication of the Stars and Stripes resumed during World War I and again in World War II and has been in continuous publication since 1942. If you have time and are so inclined, I recommend checking out their web page, www.stripes.com.

While I'm in the process of recommending web pages to you, let me give you another, www.gutenberg.org. Volunteers have uploaded over 20,000 books to this site for your "free" viewing pleasure. If you enjoy reading like I do, you'll probably like this site. Also, they need volunteers, so if you would like to proofread or help look for missing information and lost illustrations, then this site may be just for you. Doing a little research, now and then, is good for the mind, in my opinion.

Just this morning, New Year's Day 2008, I noticed, as I was getting ready to shave, that I am beginning to look like Andy Rooney. Before someone else notices this, I thought that I should write and say it first….and here's to us Andy, Happy New Year.