Greg's Blurty

The World Is A Less Funny Place Today
Author's Note: This one isn't my usual PG-13 rated material. This one is more R rated, for language and as a general rule, I still feel that profanity is over used and usually unneeded but it can be used very effectively and be very entertaining--and sometimes it's even necessary---and this one is for George Carlin, so if a few dirty words bother you, just don't read it.

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"I don't have any beliefs or allegiances. I don't believe in this country, I don't believe in religion, or a god, and I don't believe in all these man-made institutional ideas.

---------------George Carlin, 2001

The first thing that went through my mind this morning when I heard that George Carlin had died was his routine on the Three Minute Warning. I wish I could remember more than the gist (And sometime here in the near future, I'm going to get some of my favorite clips from You Tube for another tribute to George and maybe I'll find it) but the gist is enough for tonight.

He said that, just like in football, three minutes before you die, you hear a voice that says, "You have three minutes left, get your shit together!" Then there were a few more funny lines before he ended the bit with, "Of course being a celebrity has it's advantage here, too. Right before I die, I'm gonna hear a knock and, 'Five minutes, Mr. Carlin."

And I wondered if George got that knock along with the warning and if he did, what he did with those last five minutes. And it was just about that time that George Knapp mentioned that George was interested in UFO's and that got me to wondering what else he was interested in but never talked about publicly. He was awfully sympathetic to religion for a crusty old cynical atheist...but then again, he was also brutal with religion oftentimes so who knows?...anyway, did he believe that there might be an afterlife (I'm almost certain he maintained his disbelief in God...and yes, I did read the quote I used to start this one...but as for an afterlife? I think he might have been at least an agnostic on that)?

Or did he believe that that the end is the end? Either way, I hope he is somewhere right now making people laugh. I just don't want to believe that that kind of talent is simply gone. And, once again, either way, I'm wondering why he was never a guest on Coast...maybe he was asked and didn't want to do it or maybe he was never even asked and that makes me think: Why are opportunities like that passed over every day? People aren't here forever and and things like that should be done while they are here.

The next thing that went through my mind was one of his routines about suicide where he said, "Death is just the final pain in the ass." And then I thought about what he might say if he were to talk about his own death. I bet he would have very funny things to say about going to the ER...like they tell you to do...when you have chest pain and then dying anyway.

Then I thought about the few times I saw him in concert...mostly in Las Vegas but also once here at the Masonic Temple in Davenport. Then I thought about how my dad is almost exactly one year younger than he was and then I thought about the things that no one is talking about.

Like his fascination with UFO's, which was mentioned by George Knapp but then there was his FOX TV series where he played a cab driver which I really liked but didn't last long and his role as Ann Marie's agent, George Lester on That Girl. And maybe those things aren't as important as his albums, HBO specials and being the first host of Saturday Night Live but I don't think they should be ignored, either.

And now I'm thinking that at least we have the Internet and cable TV and all his albums, so just about everything he ever did will be available to us whenever we want it but what a shame it is that we won't have his take on all the things that are going to happen till we get our own three minute warning.

Current Mood: depressed
Current Music: Coast To Coast AM----Sunday June 22nd, 2008