George Carlin Dies

It's the kind of news I feel a need to confirm.

And, once I've confirmed it, I still find it hard to believe.

Comedian George Carlin died yesterday in Santa Monica, Calif., of heart failure.

He was 71.

No one lives forever, but it's hard for me to imagine a world without George Carlin in it.

He always gave me a laugh when I needed it, and my memories of listening to his recordings are intertwined with my memories of other people who were significant in my life.

Many of those people are, like Carlin, gone now.

It's hard for me to pinpoint the very first time I heard Carlin's routines or saw him on TV. He went from being one of the generation of young comedians influenced by the groundbreaking comedy of Lenny Bruce to being an inspiration for the next generation of comedians. I can't remember a time when his comedy wasn't part of my life.

So I guess things came full circle for Carlin.

And, as I reflect on the mark Carlin's comedy has left on my life, I'm reminded of one of his routines from one of his early records, "FM & AM," in which he reflected on the greatness of Ed Sullivan.

"No one got a chance to thank Ed," he said, pointing out that Sullivan's long-running variety show was canceled after it went into reruns so no one associated with the program knew that the last show that season truly was the last show.

In much the same way, no one got a chance to thank Carlin for all his years of making us laugh — and making us think.

Thanks, George. For everything.