Yogi Berra takes final fork in life’s road

Yogi Berra, as famous for his mangled quotes as for being in the Baseball Hall of Fame,  died Tuesday. He was 90.

He was a catcher with 10 Yankee championship teams, an All-Star for 15 consecutive seasons and manager who led both the Yankees and Mets to the World Series.

He was the inspiration for the cartoon character, Yogi Bear, born in 1958.

Legendary manager Casey Stengle once said: “Mr. Berra is a very strange fellow of very remarkable abilities.”

Yogi’s most famous quote was: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it,” giving directions to his house. Either path, it turned out, got you there. So it wasn’t as stupid as it sounded without the context.

Yogi also said of a popular restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

Berra published a book in 1998, “The Yogi Book: I Really Didn’t Say Everything I Said!”

Berra’s Yogi-ness was exploited in advertisements for Puss ’n Boots cat food, Miller Lite beer and, most famously, Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink. Asked if Yoo-Hoo was hyphenated, he replied, “No, ma’am, it isn’t even carbonated.”

The world can always use characters like Yogi to make life more enjoyable. St. Peter, he’s yours. Make sure he takes the fork in the road to your house.