Andy Rooney signs off: ‘This is a moment I have dreaded’

"This is a moment I have dreaded. I wish I could do this forever. I can't though. But I'm not retiring. Writers don't retire and I'll always be a writer. A lot of you have sent me wonderful letters and said good things to me when you meet me in the street. I wasn't always gracious about it. It's hard to accept being liked. I don't say this often, but thank you. Although if you do see me in a restaurant, please, just let me eat my dinner."

-- Andy Rooney, the curmudgeonly "60 Minutes" contributor who once said he would only leave the show if he "dropped dead," signing off from the CBS newsmagazine on Sunday.

It was Rooney's 1,096th "essay" on the show.

Last week, CBS announced that the episode would be Rooney's last, as it had become increasingly hard for the 92-year-old to contribute to the weekly show. "I've done a lot of complaining here, but of all the things I've complained about, I can't complain about my life," Rooney said. "And all this time I've been paid to say what is on my mind on television. You don't get any luckier in life than that."

You can watch the video of Rooney's final segment below: