George Carlin Made Us Think and Laugh at The Same Time

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching George Carlin's latest HBO special "It's Bad For Ya". I thought to myself immediately after the special began, "George is getting up there." Within minutes I was saying to myself as I laughed out loud, "He's still a friggin' riot."

And so he was until the very end. Razor sharp wit, dead-on political and social observations and the ability to strip away the phony B.S. and expose the lot of us for the tragically flawed primates that we human beings are.

George was like a one-man Greek Chorus who told us in books, records, live performances and 14 HBO specials to get over ourselves and see how screwed up we really are as a society...and when you're done laughing, maybe you can do something about it.

Perhaps he was more like an advanced being from another planet who tried to explain to us how absurd earth life is by using simple comparisons we simple earthlings could understand. Jumbo shrimp anyone?

Dead suddenly at 71. Somehow, I think he would have preferred it this way. In the middle of a sold-out stand up tour, HBO special getting good ratings, still though-provoking and killer funny.

He could have died in a nursing home drooling on himself.

Nope, not George. He checked out of the casino of life just in time to have the last laugh.

If you have HBO, check out his latest and last comedy special, "It's Bad for Ya!"