Ode to Carlin - another sad day.

Grief in Sidney..

Anybody who knows me knows that I'm a fan of George Carlin from way back (remember, I'm old). I remember being a kid and listening to an album (yes, an LP album) called "Toledo Windowbox" and thinking, "this guy's a genius". I saw his first HBO special "Carlin at Carnegie" and had pretty much memorized it. One of my favorite quotes of all time is "Have you ever noticed that most of the women who are against abortion are women you wouldn't want to fuck in the first place." I recorded that line into the very first answering machine my family ever owned and, boy, was my mom pissed!

So, it was with a heavy heart that I heard that George passed away on Sunday of heart failure. He'd already had several heart attacks and he wasn't exactly known for his physical fitness - even so, I really had hoped that he'd be with us for a lot longer (he was only 71).

I think what I liked best about him was his absolute refusal to accept bullshit. He realized that religion was a crutch for truly weak-minded people and he didn't mind rubbing their noses in it. He made sure that politicians were soundly thrashed (remember Reagan and his criminal gang) and he eschewed euphemisms and mocked any who used them. He basically said everything I believe at one point or another.

So, rather than go into all the reasons why I liked and admired him, let me just say that I'll miss him. He really was the original voice of the hippie generation, and ended up being the voice of several generations thereafter.

Sorry that this wasn't my usual funnier-than-shit self, but I'm kinda sad. I think tomorrow I'm going to go out and see if I can't find a copy of "Toledo Windowbox". On CD, though, not LP. I liked the guy, but I'm not going to buy a record player just to listen to 35 year old comedy - genius though it may have been! He wasn't Saint Carlin after all. :-)

If you like political humor, check out his stuff - especially from the 80's. If you're easily offended... well, you probably shouldn't be reading this fucking blog in the first place! ;-)