Alas, I woke up early this afternoon to read the paper about my longtime hero and his passing.
I remember seeing hin the first time live. It was the day of my 13th birthday. He was playing the Civic Center in Rapid City for the Sturgis Motor Cycle Rally. My dad had bought tickets, up in the nosebleed section, and took me to see him. I was stoked. Even wayyyyyy up there, he had this huge, hilarious presence. I was saying some of his jokes right along with him (some from his book, Brain Droppings, which I carried around like a bible in high school, then took with me to Job Corps and eventually college, and more from his tv show). I had this guy next to me roilling because i was going along with it, right down to when Mr. Carlin started his spiel about fat-ass boomer yuppies and their 'loose fitting jeans'. Dad even bought me a shirt, which I no longer have. It was called 'An Incomplete List of Impolite Words- 10,000 Dirty Words and Phrases Compiled by George Carlin'. I wore that to middle school almost daily, until the principal told me that it was inappropriate even though you had to be right on me to read it.
The last time I saw him live was 5 short years ago. I had spend $70 on tickets for decent seats, and I went there with the wife of one of the guys on my Fire Department. We had a blast. A friend of mine had recorded his box set for me on casette tapes, which I had blasting on my car stereo, while every one else had rap.
You'll be missed, Mr. Carlin. Especially by me. My life was forever changed by one of your big pieces of advice:
Relax. And Have Fun.
