Paying Homage To George Carlin

I guess just about everybody who does not spend their time living under a rock knows by now George Carlin passed away recently. Actually he died on June 22nd. Unfortunately, because he used so much profanity in his comedic routine many people only associated obscene humor with his name. But George Denis Patrick Carlin was more than just a stand up comedian, actor and author. He broke ground in areas nobody had successfully gone before. The Smothers Brothers certainly gave it a go and lost their hit TV show as a result of pushing the envelop. But nobody stayed in the public eye as long as Carlin, actually sticking his thumb in as many eyes as he could along the way. After trying conventional stand up humor and failing he grew his hair into a pony tail, grew a beard, wore only black clothing during his public routine (something we now see a lot) and took on the edge for which he became famous. From his early days after inventing the now famous Hippy Dippy Weatherman character to his breakthrough as a rebel who dared to say “The Seven Dirty Words You Cannot Say On TV” (radio or in print for that matter) Carlin’s work as a great artist took off.

Because his work is so prolific it would be impossible to chronicle his best quotes in one writing. Having said that, I would like to share some of my favorite quotes and quips, especially for those following my writings that never had a chance to see or hear George either on TV or in person. Hence:

“As a matter of principle, I never attend the first annual anything”. “Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy”. “If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted”?

George also made fun of redundancies in our lexicon. Once again, some of my George Carlin favorites:

“Added bonus; Exactly right; Future potential; Money-back refund; True fact; Revert back; Joint cooperation; Total abstinence; Subject matter; Honest truth; Audible gasp; Gather together; First time ever”……the list could go for pages. “Close proximity; Foreign imports; Linger on”.

We lost someone and something important when George Carlin left us. Oh, sure, he was a controversial figure and was either loved or hated depending upon a person’s beliefs where to draw the line in a public forum. But many of his routines contained more than off color humor. His poem about “Hair” came at a time when this country was having trouble dealing with long haired “hippies”. We seem to have been able to bridge that gap and move on to being up tight about other socially unpopular issues, from men wearing earrings to everyone getting tattoos. I am not taking a position on any issues considered politically incorrect. I have simply been going back to many of George Carlin’s writings and thinking how outrageous he was to so many at the time when now it is obvious many of his thoughts and routines on the stage have transcended modernity.

Like him or not George Carlin knew how to get our attention and he made some of us think about things, much of which may have been outside the comfort zone of many, but he made us think. I will leave you with my all time George Carlin favorites, which are two of his many oxymorons: “Original copy” and “Open secret”. George was original and he was open. But nothing about him could be considered an oxymoron.

If you are already a fan of George Carlin, or not, and would like to see where all the quotes in this writing came from I suggest you purchase your own copy of Brain Droppings by George Carlin, still available on the Internet.