THE IRREVERENT GEORGE CARLIN

photo courtesty of NY Times



















I’ll admit. I had to look it up. When I googled George Carlin’s death, the word was practically in every headline. Irreverent. Definition? “Critical of what is generally accepted or respected; satirical.” And indeed, that’s what George Carlin was all about. I was probably 10 or so when I first heard the seven dirty words routine. And as every little kid can attest, curse words are funny. That was my intro to GC. As I got older, my perception of GC was an angry hippie, trendy, and a guy who got laughs from being dirty. I didn’t like him. But that all changed when I saw one of his 14 HBO comedy specials. I laughed hard that night. He was still dirty, but he was genuinely funny, observant, and intelligent. Whether he talked about politics, religion, football, baseball, or just plain stuff, his comedy was truly brilliant. I’m sure he’d always been, but I’d never given him a chance. From that day on, I was a big fan. Whether he had a comedy special or just an appearance on a talk show, I made it a point to watch him. He was one of the few who could really make me laugh. The world needs laughter, and it’s sad we just lost a big source of it. I think Robin Williams said it best, “I’m gonna miss that mother f***er.”