I can’t believe George Carlin’s been dead for over a year already. Is it just me or is time flying by quicker and quicker every day? I’m not one of these super fans that get horribly upset and distraught when some celebrity dies, but I do miss listening to him bitch. Of course through the cassettes, mp3’s and DVD’s I have, I can still listen to him bitch whenever I want.
I sort of grew up listening to George. My dad had a tape of him he listened to in the car, because back then George only swore in certain parts so the whole act wasn’t so risqué. To date myself here, I’ll mention that the tape was an 8 track tape. After my dad died in ’85, I didn’t hear George again for 3 years when “What am I Doing in New Jersey” was released and I watched it on HBO. I loved that special, it was and still is one of my favorites I had ever heard, which made me go back and rent a lot of his back catalog. I remember that was my freshman/sophomore year in high school and I memorized the “Jersey” special word for word from watching it so much. I went out and bought his entire back catalog on cassette tapes and listened to them in my walkman. To make myself not look like such a technological dinosaur I will mention that now I listen to the mp3’s on my IPod. I also have every special on DVD. These are the DVD’s that were released a while ago in two sets and I purchased the remaining DVD’s separately. I didn’t repurchase the ones released after last June to capitalize on his death. One because I hate when someone famous dies and suddenly everything they’ve ever done is now available for you to purchase, or repurchase as it is; and two because I’m a cheap asshole. To date, George is the only stand up comedian that I’ve ever seen live.
Anyway, I have one question to pose here… George died on June 22, 2008, Ed McMahon died on June 23, 2009. Do you think Ed ever thought last year after George died that he only had a year and a day left in him? These are the things I think of when I’m home alone and the power goes out…