George Carlin

George Carlin died of heart failure on June 22, 2008. He was 71.

Anyone who worked in radio or television broadcasting during the 1970's probably remembers how the radical and very original George Carlin shocked and amused people in this country.

I remember my introduction to Carlin's humor during my first year in radio. As a new disk jockey I was expected to adhere closely to the "playlist" and not try to freelance it. I was a college student then and worked the 10:00 pm to 2:00 am shift on the air. Well, I thought I would be cool and play some George Carlin. I also made another major error by playing something "cold" that I hadn't first listened to. That's one of the reasons a music director creates the "playlist." Needless to say, I had to break into the album cut and apologize for what I allowed to go out on the air. George was "too cool" for the airwaves in Great Falls, Montana in 1970.

I always thought George Carlin was brillant. I fancied myself as a wordsmith even 30 years ago, but I've never approached Carlin's level. After all, he was the one who thought to ask: "IS THEIR ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM?"

George once described his own religious belief as "frisbeetarianism," the belief that when you die your soul goes up and gets stuck on a roof and stays there forever.

Carlin was a free-thinker who never backed down. On June 13, he granted an interview to Psychology Today. Here is a link to The Last George Carlin Interview .



I invite you to also check out my Retirement blog at Retired and Restless.

Winter Shows its Punch

Winter is SO reluctant to give way to spring that some years it manages to hang around until nearly summer. The week of June 9 to 12 was sloppy, cold, wet, freezing, and snowy--somewhere in the State of Montana--nearly every day.

A planned trip for me couldn't be cancelled so on Tuesday, June 10, I took a little risk, put some weight into the pickup box, and headed up toward Rogers Pass.

Following too closely? Nah, a telephoto lens enhances the effect.

Conditions were pretty good if you ignored the snow, and the Pass was sanded. It snowed all the way from Missoula to the other side of the Pass, then rained the rest of the way to Great Falls.

I left Great Falls by the end of the day and made my way to a cabin in the woods near Lincoln where I was to check up on a cat left alone in the house. I had planned to stay over...and ended up staying an extra day because of the snow and wintry conditions on the "trail" that serves as a road up to the cabin.

Impressive overnight snow made its appearance on an equally impressive firewood pile

Although I was cozy enough inside, it was near freezing the entire time I was there, and I got out of there Thursday morning once the "road" was clear. I have inserted a couple of pictures here: the firewood stack that turned white overnight, and the pathetic attempt to make a snowboarding snowman.

Warmer temps soon erased this evidence and the cabin owners didn't even get to see it. Oh well, I have a photo for posterity, such as it is.

Check out my Restless Retirement blog at Retired and Restless. You may also enjoy the Missoula Recreation scene at my new site, Missoula Outside

The BABY CRIB made out of logs

My son is coming over and we will be working on a baby crib made out of logs. Now THERE IS A PROJECT! I think we have at least 100 hours into this crib and three trips up to to the woods to cut logs.


Still trying to get enough pieces of the right size and not rotting or badly split. You never know what you're gonna get until to peel the bark away. This is a great way to spend time with my son...the baby is due in early July so we are beginning to feel the stress of getting this completed on time.


My Retired and Restless blog is taking up an enormous amount of time. Once again, I seem to have spread myself too thin.


I have also been writing for the Western Montana edition of One Thousand Things To Do.com, and although I enjoy doing all of this, I do think I am neglecting some of the very important yard work that needs to be done....and SOON!

Why is it that a lawn is so difficult to get started and green-up and then just goes crazy on us? I think it grew TWO INCHES over the weekend! It is beginning to look more like a "crop" that needs harvesting than a simple lawn. The weather doesn't want to cooperate either.

I don't want to be out cutting grass on the nice sunny days, yet, I can't cut the grass when it is raining, or even when it is still wet. So...today I had planned to mow the lawn...but now it is raining again.


What a whiner I am becoming! Time to get off my butt and away from the computer for a while. Just have to remember to maintain some balance in my life. (that old yin-yang thing)