George Carlin

You might have noticed I did not post an R.I.P. for George Carlin as I did with Tim Russert. I did that for two reasons: because I don't think a little picture that says R.I.P. is fitting for George Carlin - not to devalue Tim Russert or anything. Second reason is I really didn't want to be cashing in on a death meme.

Anyway, I've met George Carlin. About 3 years ago, I was fortunate enough to spend somewhere between 30-45 minutes speaking with him. I was in radio at the time and as such, when he rolled through town I was part of the morning show on the radio station that sponsored the event. So I got to help introduce him onstage, which was BEYOND wild.

But that thrill was nothing compared to speaking with him before the show. He was incredibly nice, as well. He told myself and the other two radio guys about how he used to be in radio and how certain parts of that were huge influences on who he is as a person. He also talked with us on current events, none of which I can remember because current events happen at a breakneck pace now thanks to the internet. It used to be "story of the week" and now it is "story of the... story of... story of the d..."

The thing that was so neat was that he didn't just talk at us. He conversed with us. It was something that I will never forget. That a total stranger - one widely known and a master of his art - took time to speak with a couple nobodies at length about whatever they wanted to talk about even though it would not be on record in any way is cool. Also, I will never forget the blood blister on his ear. Oh, did I try not to stare at it - to no avail.

Such is the tribute I can give to the man/comedian George Carlin was, though, that I thought a dude with a really disgusting thing on his ear was so fucking cool.