George Carlin was a comic and a hero

My heroes always have been cowboys.

This is a great old country-western tune that rings true to me.

My first opinion piece in this newspaper had to do with the fact one of my heroes (Roger Clemens) couldn’t have been on steroids. Now as a baseball fan I am not so sure. Is this what happens as we get older? The men and women we regard as heroes pass on or get revealed as cheats.

This past weekend, one more of my heroes passed away. George Carlin.

I’ll give you my top five greatest stand-up comics of all time, in no particular order: Bob Newhart, Don Rickles, Richard Pryor, Lenny Bruce and George Carlin. To me these five represented the best of comedy of all time.

Even more important, these five men were truly rebels with a cause, pushing and stretching the comedic envelope so far that thousands of stand-up comedians should hit their knees every night and thank them for their work.

George Carlin was special to me. We used to turn off the lights, stash a bath towel under the door to keep mom and dad from hearing us giggle like schoolgirls, listening to Carlin do the “hippy dippy weatherman.”

My friends and I would laugh so hard at “Baseball vs. Football,” and “Dogs and Cats” that milk would easily shoot out of your nose. He was terrific with comedy about language and “stuff” and he rebelled against those who tried to tell him he couldn’t do a routine about the seven dirty words you can’t say on television.

What upsets me the most is that I never wrote a note to Mr. Carlin, just to say thanks for the laughs, and to tell him how much he meant to this fan. So this week I am going to be writing a few letters. To people like Don Rickles and Bob Newhart.

And as many heroes of mine still kicking around this marble. Guys such as Jim Garrison, Mark Lane, Edgar Martinez, Nolan Ryan, Rick Reilly and Dan Jenkins. Men such as Dave Niehaus, Bill Schonely and Vin Scully.

I remind you, dear readers, to write a quick note to your heroes before they are gone. Say thank you to a veteran .Thank a cop, thank a firefighter, and thank your kids’ teacher for doing what they do. Don’t wait until that moment comes as it did for me Monday June 23rd 2008.The day another hero of mine passed into the great unknown.