"All destinations are final! That's what it means: Destiny, final. If you haven't gotten where you're going, you aren't there yet." --George Carlin--
Other than my mother, I have one category of people I idolized when I was growing up: comedians. I sneaked peeks at shows like the Half Hour Comedy Hour and Sunday Comics when I was a kid. The HBO comedy specials I could grab late at night after my parents went to bed. The Stand-Up Spotlight I'd watch in my grandparents bedroom while the adults talked about adult things in the living room. I had many heroes - some I was allowed to watch from a young age, and some I glimpsed in those stolen HBO moments. A young Rosie O'Donnell, Steve Martin, Paula Poundstone, Richard Jeni, Gallagher, Rita Rudner, anyone who'd ever set foot on SNL, countless forgotten others....and one I loved dearly and later whose specials I would spend hours watching and bonding over with my mom: George Carlin. I had so many of his routines memorized - I still recite the airline announcements bit in my head every time I'm on a plane. He is - was - one of the most brilliant and forward-thinking voices of many generations, and I was lucky enough to get to see him at the University of Florida about eight years ago. (Thank you, Jessi!!)
Plus, you know, there's this:
One of the fun things about my stepdad is that he resembles two of my favorite twinkly-eyed mischievious men. One's George Carlin. (The other, Michael Caine.)
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