Always in threes...

It is like this is becoming an obituary blog as of late, but one of my heroes has died. George Carlin had a profound influence on my life. Not as an actor or performer, but the way that I think - and in that way, for me, he will live for ever.

I first heard George Carlin in church, of all places. It seems odd that I would be exposed to that in such a conservative place. It must have been 1987 or so and one of the older kids had a tape of one of his shows. He played it in Sunday school - I think the "teacher" was off doing something else. It was not one of his "blue" routines; however "blue" was the subject. It was the observation that there was no "blue" food - "and don't say blueberry's because they are purple!"

The next year I acquired a new best friend, who had HBO and my Carlin Education began in full. My parents are pretty conservative people and wouldn't expose me or my brother to that kind of thing, thats what subversive friends are for. I have a collection of VHS tapes in my room and would break them out when my parents went out on weekends.

At first I guess I just thought he was funny - I mean, what teenage boy doesn't appreciate dick and fart jokes, right? But as Carlin developed his voice, I began to see his logic, and I began to agree - even expand it into my own way of thinking.

More than anyone, I think I would credit him with making me a liberal - though as I have stated before, I did not know it at the time. I found myself at odds with accepted behavior, rules, and the boundaries of taste within my own world, and I was emboldened by his courage to challenge them.

I can remember listening to one of his albums while on tour, and my Christian Right Girl-Friend (don't ask) initially balked at his diatribe on the Rights attitude toward abortion and homosexuals ("Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers." and "...who has fewer abortions than homosexuals?") But as she listened to the reasoning she began to see the hypocrisies. It never changed her opinion mind you, but it did open her eyes to the hypocrisies of her allies.

A very thoughtful girlfriend bought me tickets to see George in 1998 at the Warner Theater. It was not until the Borat movie that I laughed so hard. I feel privileged to have seen his act in person - especially in the digital age we no live in, where more people are content to just watch rather than experience. I will treasure my Carlin experience, and always carry a bit of him with me.