Rooney, Mickey Not Andy

As regular readers of this blog know, I've been told that my voice is unique. One wag remarked that I had a future on The Cartoon Network. A waitress insisted that I sounded like Jiminy Cricket. Several folks have told me that I sound like a local newscaster who's name escapes me this minute. My laugh is apparently quite distinct. And then on the phone yesterday a customer told me that I sound exactly like Mickey Rooney. Yes, the old actor who started out as Andy Hardy.

I suppose it's better to be known for something. But Jiminy Cricket? Andy Hardy? 

Well, here's a a clip of Andy Hardy. You tell me. And maybe it's the power of suggestion, but while watching that clip I do seem to hear me. I wonder if I would have stood a chance with Judy Garland...

Radio Voice

A customer told me yesterday that I have a great voice, one that would be good for voiceovers. He said he meant it, that it was a compliment. I'm willing to take it on that level. I do have one voiceover artist job to my credit. Indeed he wasn't the first to remark that I had such a quality. But I always felt my voice sounded kind of whiny for such. Quiet, Ron.

I don't really know how complimented I ought to be though. A waitress once told me I sounded like Disney's Jiminy Cricket while Bally Sports Detroit's John Keating remarked that my voice was odd enough for Cartoon Network. So there's that.

As I don't believe any of us hear ourselves the way other folks do I don't think I can comment accurately on what exactly I sound like. On top of that of course, I'm trying to establish myself as a writer. That strikes me as ironic in some vague sense. Perhaps I can produce my own audiobooks when the time comes.

By Jiminy

Yesterday while on the road I stopped by a restaurant which was an old haunt of me Pops. It was early, and I was making good time. He liked the breakfasts there; so do I. The planets aligned.

The waitress remarked that I had a distinct voice. This was actually something I had heard before. Indeed, one wag said I had a voice for the Cartoon Network. I'm still not entirely sure whether I should be angry or complimented.

But to continue. Beth, the waitress, told me she actually recognized the voice yet couldn't quite place it. She would figure it out, she assured me.

Within a few minutes she was refilling my coffee cup and a light lit above her. It was really cool because it was an actual electric light which had flipped on at such an angle from my point of view that it appeared directly above her head as she began to speak. "You sound just like the little helper from Pinocchio, who was it? Yeah, Jiminy Cricket!"

Again, should I be insulted or complimented? Am I an iconic cartoon character or a nagging little bug? I supposed it is nice to be recognized for something though.