When cheese gets it’s picture taken, what does it say? (G. Carlin)

One of the things I love best about my family is our sense of humor. It’s a rather silly sense of humor. I grew up listening to the likes of George Carlin, Bill Cosby and Steve Martin with many hours watching Bugs Bunny and Monty Python. When George Carlin passed away, my cousin Brian called to say that he would like to gather the family together for a tribute. It took some time to find a day when everyone was available, but last night 14 of us gathered at my aunt & uncle’s home to enjoy good food, fond memories and hours of laughter.

Yup, I’ll admit it…the group above is part of my funky family! My parents are on the left and my aunt and uncle on the right. They decided to dress up in 70s garb for the tribute. These are the folks who helped shape the sense of humor of my brothers, cousins and I. They introduced us to the comedians mentioned above. And, while some may think that a 12 year old (possibly younger) shouldn’t be listening to “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television,” I actually feel it brought us closer together. I believe our sense of humor has given us an even stronger bond. I have so many childhood memories of us sitting around the living room listening to comedy albums, laughing and enjoying our time together. We (the cousins) would even make up our own skits to entertain our parents. I guess it’s true that the family that laughs together stays together.

Another aspect of the George Carlin tribute that I really enjoyed was listening to the old albums. It was such a familiar feeling sitting around the record player and hearing the crackling sounds coming from the record. I’m glad my nephews were also able to share in this experience…another generation corrupted by our silly sense of humor.