It's Bad for Ya

That's the title of a new George Carlin album that will come out on Tuesday and his daughter says it’s the best thing he’s ever done because he returns to his “playful goofiness”. I was glad to hear that because I’ve always been a George Carlin fan, but over the past several years it seemed he had gotten darker and angrier and his daughter, Kelly, noted the same thing. I had stopped watching him on HBO because I found his routine depressing and not funny. He always had such an incredible way with words and could make us laugh at ourselves. I’m glad he seemed to have gotten to a better space before he died of a heart attack on June 22 at the age of 71 and I look forward to the album which is poking fun at us old folks – him included, but this time he’s not angry, he’s goofy. His love for his craft together with an intolerance for stupidity at the highest levels of government and society influenced generations of new funnymen and was probably one of the real reasons he was one of my favorite comics. He influenced a whole era of comics much as the Beatles influenced a whole new era of musicians. I can appreciate the goofy, sometimes it’s the best way to deal with situations – the questionable joys of old age might be one of those. Not that there aren’t joys related to age – I know and make the most of a lot of joyful things about my age, but lets face it, there are things that aren’t particularly fun. Still, I’m gradually realizing that this is a very good time in my life, but that doesn't mean that I can't still make fun of it from time to time and I do.

But it seems George is still going to be around for some of us – his daughter and his brother, Patrick, scattered his ashes around all his favorite haunts – literally and I'd be willing to bet George is enjoying every moment.