Monday, June 23, 2008

Admiration and loss

After reading about the death of George Carlin, a man that without doubt burned the candle at both ends, I’ve given thought to all of the people that I’ve drawn inspiration from.  George was on that list.  When I was either 15 or 16, I found “Class Clown” in my parents basement.  Not knowing much about him, I did what any adolescent would have done.  I put the record on and cranked it up.  As the needle reached the outer rings, I knew I was a different person than when the ride had started.  A change for the better.  Going forward, I pocketed his words, along with words of others and traveled forward on my journey.

Words

To quote George “All we have are words, really”.  Our lives are filled with words coming in from so many directions that it’s easy to lose track of who said what.  The words that stick with us the most, the ones that we pass along in the forms of advice and guidance, those are the ones that can be traced back to their original sources.  Parents, grandparents, friends, spouses, children and the occasional celebrity.  All of these sources define and shape us with their words, for they are all we have.  As a parent, I’ve realized the power that words have, and I work to wield them with caution and skill.

As life moves on, as it tends to do, I will use these words, learned from various sources, to help me along the way.  Thanks to those who’ve made their words worth remembering.