George Carlin

This morning I heard some unbelievable news: George Carlin had died. That was in sharp contrast to my reaction whenever I saw him on TV or YouTube.com: George Carlin is still alive? I only say that because he was known to get high before performing. He was one of my favorite comedians dating back to the 1960s when I used to watch him on TV as a boy. I loved watching him on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, especially because I was supposed to be sleeping. I remember he did one routine about an over-zealous New York City police officer who broke the record for the most arrests. His chief eventually asks, “What do you mean you arrested your mother?” Whenever my friends came over, I would have them listen to the one and only George Carlin comedy album that I had. My friends always thought he was funny and I always laughed no matter how many times I heard it. I divided all my friends into those who liked George Carlin and those who didn’t. I don’t remember the name of the album but he was pictured sitting on a stool and the there is a brown border aroung the picture. And in tiny print there were a lot of Carlin witticisms such as, “There’s no two ways about it. There are two sides to every story!” Of course, I never noticed them until my friend Bill Pappas read the entire album jacket and pointed them out to me. This was when I first discovered George Carlin the writer. This last year I have been watching him on YouTube.com and then showing the clips to my sons. He’s still funny to me even after all these years.