The day the funny died

Heaven is now a place I definitely want to be in. The saints in light have called home the funniest, dirtiest old man on earth: George Carlin, thus making what might have been just clouds and harps the biggest belly laugh in eternity.

I learned how to swear from dear old George. When I was thirteen, my mother enrolled me in a sex education class taught by a married couple from our church. One evening, at their house, a recording of George Carlin was played for about 10-12 seventh and eighth graders to initiate us into how most of society talks about sex. We heard the classics "The Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say on Television" and "Sex in Commercials" from his collection on Indecent Exposure. You can imagine the effect it had on our prepubescent sense of humor.

When I was in seminary I listened with great regularity (and hilarity) to A Place for My Stuff. "Ice Box Man", "Football and Baseball", and the title track were priceless, sometimes laughing so hard I thought I would pee my pants.

As I grew older, I developed a fondness for George Carlin the actor. In Outrageous Fortune he played a nutjob of a desert guide. In The Prince of Tides he played the fun, thoughtful gay neighbor to Nick Nolte's suicidal sister. In Dogma he showed up as Cardinal Ignatius Glick, the Church being one of his favorite targets as a comedian. And he lent his vocal talents for the character of Fillmore in Cars.

In tribute to this singular voice, here is a video of "Football and Baseball", which also explains why many pastors are baseball fans.

Baseball and Football - Click here for more free videos