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When I read the news, I wrote an email to my friends from grade school and high school. I included a link to an article about his passing.
"I cried today when I read that George Carlin was dead. Why you ask? Let me tell you a story about my development as an entity unto myself, someone who did and said things that WERE not scripted by my parents.
When I was in eigth grade, I became friendly with a classmate named Tim. To say he was MORE aware of the world around us is an understatement. As you ALL know I was raised by a Father who was a retired minister and a Mother who followed right along in true Stepford wife tradition. They controlled ALL the information coming into my life and my awareness of the OUTSIDE was so severly limited as to be non-existant.
On one occasion I was talking to Tim about something and he called someone a Mother F****r, I had NEVER heard the two words strung together before, I had no idea what he meant, I mean was he saying that this person actually went about fornicating with peoples Mothers? How horrible. He then went on to tell me about George Carlin and his 7 words you can't say on TV. I was astounded, while I had heard some of them, there were a few I had not heard. I remember asking Tim to explain some of them which he was glad to do. It was at that moment, I saw a pin prick size ray of light coming through what I considered the darkness of my sheltered life.
I sought George Carlin out, when I was able to see anything of him, I watched it. There were times when we were at a hotel and they had cable and I could catch him on a pay channel. There was a time when we accidently got pay channels at our home in Texas and I was treated to Body Heat and some serious stand up comedy from Whoopi, George and even Eddie Murphy before my Father realized what was going on and got it fixed.
At first it was titilating because it was bad words but then over time I realized there was ALOT more to it then just cussing. It was about yes our freedom of speech, of not having someone elses idea of decency forced upon us. Whoopi's stand up act in which she pretended to be Anne Frank and the young black girl who wanted to have long blonde hair opened a little light into issues that I never crossed in my day to day life.
Over time, I broke free of the contraints and expectations placed on me by others. Others who would harness me to their ideals in life, force me into rolls that were not well suited for me.
I will sincerely miss George Carlin, I always looked for his next standup, I wanted to hear what he had to say, I wanted to see him breaking apart societies expectations and rules.
Ingrid, I hope you will pass this along to your husband and thank him for me, for uttering those two explosive words to such a sheltered person as myself and telling me about the wonderful world of George Carlin and the 7 words you can't say on TV."
What an amazing comedian. I always loved his biting social commentary disguised as humor, and the way he'd describe how language is used to obscure reality, like this:
"Poor people used to live in slums. Now the economically disadvantaged occupy substandard housing in the inner cities."
He was soooooo funny. Sucks. R.I.P. Everyone is dying....Russert...Carlin....
They come in 3's folks ...
Here's my favorite Carlin story:
Carlin was arrested as an audience member for refusing to show identification at [Lenny] Bruce's December,1962 show at the Gate of Horn in Chicago, after the police ended the show and arrested Bruce for obscenity. They were both placed into the back of the same paddywagon together.
I would have loved to been in that paddywagon with those 2!!! I always considered Lenny Bruce the Christ of comedy (he died so people like Carlin and Pryor could do their brand of comedy). I can see it now, Bruce, Pryor and Carlin together, somewhere ... and the filth spewing forth!
Remember - I don't want to get ON the airplane, I want to get IN the airplane?
OMG, I think of that EVERY time I fly! So many of his jokes have stuck with me, and run through my head at random times... the sign of a truly brilliant comedian.
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Which woman from Grease?
