Most comics are flash-in-the-pan acts, but George Carlin never lost his “cool-club” membership.

I was watching NBC on the night of October 11, 1975 because Carlin was scheduled to be on a new show called Saturday Night Live. SNL remains on the air today but in those days, it was a phenomenon. SNL gained such tremendous popularity with younger TV viewers that bars and nightclubs installed TVs as to not lose business at 10:30 when the show hit the air.

Some comics are flash-in-the-pan sensations. As big (and brilliant) as he was, Steve Martin's act had a short lifespan and he wisely used his sensational start as a springboard into movies- where he could expand his horizons beyond wearing bunny ears and fake arrows wrapped around his head. He stopped doing stand up 25 years ago.

Give Carlin credit too, for staying within his limits when he took a TV or movie role. He did a brilliant voice-over job in the animated classic Cars a couple years ago.

George Carlin kept himself relevant. The best comics do little more than hold a mirror up to life and ask “did you notice this?”. There may be no better example of that technique- and Carlin's brilliance- than his well-circulated views on aging, reprinted here for your amusement.

George Carlin's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when
we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! An d then the greatest day of your life . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21 YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If y ou make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them , at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but  by the moments that take our breath away.