sal_amanda | More on George Carlin

I have actually been a fan of George Carlin's since I was a kid. This may sound a bit strange when you consider the vulgarity of his material, but it's not like my parents purposely exposed us to his material. But they did have a couple of his records, and I remember sneaking into Julie's room with them and listening to them quietly and loving it. Not just because of the shock value of being a kid listening to this man talk about the seven words you can't say on TV, though at the time it may have been a motivating factor for listening to it. But his take on life in general was just great to me, and he didn't hold anything back. I swear I think of Carlinisms in my daily life.

Oh, and the Catholic humor. I appreciate Catholic humor in a way that only someone who has grown up Catholic can, and only when it's performed by someone who also grew up Catholic. George Carlin did the best Catholic humor. Only Kevin Smith has come close, and casting George Carlin as the priest in Dogma shows that he knew George was the best, too.

Seeing George Carlin in places other than standup was always fun. Dogma, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and the weirdest of all - as the train conductor on Thomas the Tank Engine. My brother watched that when it first came out and the whole family was scratching their heads at that one, but I suppose it served the purpose of getting the grown-ups interested in the show, too (Ringo Starr also held the role of the conductor at some point).

Sigh. I know he was 71 and probably lived a hard life at times, but it's still difficult to hear that one of your heroes has died.