By George

There's not a day that goes by when on one social media platform or another a meme with a George Carlin quote surfaces. They're always good for a smile and maybe, if I'm reasonably focused (something we elderly dotards aren't known for) I'll spend a moment thinking about the point I believe he was making.

I will always believe Lenny Bruce was the funniest comic in my lifetime, but I don't get out much, and much of Bruce's humor was topical as opposed to Carlin's which is closer to timeless. On a much smaller scale, of course, I have a similar problem. Where I live, many people think I'm being funny but I'm actually just mean. I'm grateful they haven't caught on yet.

Carlin was a broadcaster in the United States Air Force, stationed among other places at Lajes Field, Azores. I, too, was a broadcaster in the USAF, spending a year on a rock in the North Atlantic above the Arctic Circle, Greenland. Still waiting for my HBO special. 

I've often theorized that much of Carlin's reputation was built on our belief that he, too, was being funny when in reality his vision was much, much darker. As it happens, I'm not alone in seeing his dark side (sorry, Floyd).  

I think he'd be amused and bemused at the regard and esteem in which we hold him. But he shouldn't be as it's fully deserved.
-bill kenny