Old School: Life in the Sane Lane by Bill O'Reilly and Bruce Feirstein
Old School: Life in the Sane Lane
Old School: Life in the Sane Lane by Bill O'Reilly and Bruce Feirstein
OLD SCHOOL: LIFE IN THE SANE LANE is a light-hearted comparison of the “snowflake” school versus “Old School.” The authors explain that we find ourselves in “an age when everything has to be politically correct, a time when everybody expects a trophy and everyone gets to be outraged about everything, all the time.”
Much of the book contains reminiscences of each author. They take turns relating stories—mostly from their youth, explaining how times have changed.
Describing his tough time in football practice, O’Reilly explains, “It is simply impossible to describe how much fun we all had on a dirt field with little water for almost four hours every hot, humid day. We had Iwo Jima–type fun, root canal joviality. But, again, I got through it. That’s because I had acquired discipline. I could handle a good amount of pain, both physical and mental. No question, Snowflakes would have melted in three minutes on that dusty field.”
One funny story relates to an odd event, called the “Moon Platoon,” which was “despite the name, was not an astronomy club.” After the boys were all lined up and ready to go, “all at once, a whistle sounded and about two dozen American college students turned their backs on the Dayliner and dropped their pants. Horror is too slight a word to describe the reaction on the boat.”
Chapter 12 Are You a Snowflake? presents a series of questions. For example, “You might be a Snowflake if you’re twenty-seven and still living in your parents’ basement.”
Conversely, “You’re Old School if you stand up during the national anthem,” or “still bend over to pick up a penny.”
So all in all, I found OLD SCHOOL: LIFE IN THE SANE LANE to be a humorous, easy read. It’s full of funny stories. This is a lighthearted read—don’t take it too seriously.
