A COMEDY IN TWO ACTS-

 A COMEDY IN TWO ACTS-

     A couple of my friends and I saw him about 5  years ago. I was lucky enough to be seated at the large front table right against the stage. Also at my table was a family; two grown-up children 19 & 20,  their 40 something parents and the 60-ish grandparents. They wanted to see a comedy show  they said. They also mentioned that they were from some midwestern town and were good Christian folks, so they didn’t come to Vegas to drink or gamble, they came to see the lights and the Hoover Dam and a few fancy shows. Someone at their hotel desk told them this was a really good show to see, really funny.
     I wondered if the hotel person was biting his tongue as he sent them here, or if he really had no clue what he was getting them into.
    The comic’s jokes started off with getting older, and bad drivers. Everybody laughed! But as the swearing got more frequent and  the topic turned to crazy religious nuts, my  bible belting table-mates got a little up tight. Okay, they got a lot uptight. Their laughs stopped. Their smiles melted and turned into open mouthed disgust. They looked at each other with wide eyed indignation. When the waitress stopped by, they passed on the virgin pina colada refills.
    My friends and I were laughing and clapping for the performance on stage in front of us, but I was about to piss my pants watching  the performance right next to us. I tried not to appear as if I was staring at them, but  I had one eye on offended family, and truthfully,  their discomfort and shock made the comedy on stage so much funnier, because the ranting from stage was all about them! Needless to say they left early, which left us with a whole lot of stretching out room to kick our feet up, laugh our asses off and have just a few too many drinks. It was a wonderful night so far, but when the show was over, it was just about to get even more fantastic.
     Trying to find a way out without having to wait for EVERYONE else to leave (we were in the front of the auditorium, the doors were in the back) we decided to follow the exit signs at the front of the theater. We ended up wandering around in the dark until we turned a corner. We walked into the light and almost into a man clothed in black. It was quite an unforeseeable surprise, and you never have the right thing to say when confronted with that double take of no, wait, it can’t be. "Great show!"  I said. "Thank you." He said, and walked off into the dark.

He was a truly great man, who said what he wanted to say, and made us laugh at the same time. A first amendment rights crusader who went to jail and opened the doors to freedom of speech. It was great to see you live and wonderful to meet you in person, even if it was for only 10 seconds.

My condolences to his family, friends, and fans, of which I am one.
In Memory and Awe- George Carlin – May 12, 1937- June 22, 2008
     shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits
Mr. Justice STEVENS (delivering the majority opinion)
This case requires that we decide whether the Federal Communications Commission has any power to regulate a radio broadcast that is indecent but not obscene.
A satiric humorist named George Carlin recorded a 12-minute monologue entitled "Filthy Words" before a live audience in a California theater. He began by referring to his thoughts about "the words you couldn’t say on the public, ah, airwaves, um, the ones you definitely wouldn’t say, ever." He proceeded to list those words and repeat them over and over again in a variety of colloquialisms. The transcript of the recording, which is appended to this opinion, indicates frequent laughter from the audience… The words of the Carlin monologue are unquestionably "speech" within the meaning of the First Amendment. . . .
http://www.georgecarlin.com/home/home.html