George Carlin has died. Many will remember him for the bit about words you cannot say on television. I look at his career as providing another necessity.

Everyone should have a curmudgeon in their life. Someone who points out the obvious, the unusual and the idiotic. George Carlin was that curmudgeon.

The problem being a curmudgeon is that most people won’t like you but will admire you. Carlin’s public persona would not make him a valued friend nor one that you would hang around a lot. He was too abrasive. He took shots at one and all, and that’s only funny when you’re not being the one shot at.

We all need a curmudgeon to remind us that we are not perfect. The perfect curmudgeon, George Carlin, will be missed.