We will miss you, George.
- June 23, 2008 at 10:44 AM by Woodenvelt
- 4 Comment(s)
- 66 Total Views
The first joke I ever learned as a child was from George Carlin. Don't be alarmed, it wasn't a bad one. I remember being about five years old and seeing some snippet of Carlin on TV telling a joke about some guy who kept running red lights. After running several red lights and saying he did it because his brother taught him to drive this way, the man stopped at a green light. Carlin asked the man why he stopped and the man replied "Because my brother might be coming the other way." I don't know what it was about George Carlin, something in his intensity or his speech or his delivery, or maybe is was just his grandfatherly appearance, but that stuck with me. It stayed with me all my life.
My son might not know it, but George is a deep part of his childhood too. George's voice filled his mind and transported him to the land of Sodor every day from the time he was two years old until he was almost six. Although he has officially "outgrown" Thomas the Tank Engine now, he still looks on that useful little engine with a warm fondness that he will carry with him always.
George Carlin was more than just "Seven Dirty Words." He wove himself into our culture and popped up in the most unexpected places. From Shining Time Station, to Radiator Springs, to my favorite Excellant Journey, to an expletive ridden stand up act, he touched people. His humor and his wit and his wisdom found a way to persevere, no matter the venue.
- Written by Woodenvelt on June 23, 2008 at 10:44 AM
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Comments:
I will miss George Carlin. His books will forever earn the place on my bookshelves right next to Twain.
I had no idea that Carlin did a voice on Tomas the Tank Engine! The one on PBS? huh. The kids and I listened to Carlin as the voice of Zoogor on Tarzan II yesterday. When Alex asked who George Carlin is, I told him that he is one of our favorite people.
I was playing some kiddie tunes for the little one the other day, and after that disc was over, I just let it keep going. After a couple more CDs, a George Carlin standup CD that I didn't even remember was in there came on. I sat and listened, and laughed out loud, and marveled at how he just seemed to "get it." He was AMAZING.
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I loved George Carlin too! I remember being a young teen hiding in my bedroom with my girlfriends listening to his album quiety so my parents would know, LOL! Such contraband! Then was astounded as an adult with children myself, listening to him as conductor of Thomas the Tank Engine and wondering how on earth you can go from his type of comedy to a children's show, LOL! And of course, how ironic of him to play a cardinal on the movie Dogma? So many fond memories of George Carlin! I will miss him too... now he can be with his wife who passed away in 1997.
eternallymom Jun. 23, 2008 at 10:51 AM