New George Carlin Record Banned from our House

STORY BY: Sharon Barker
YEAR: 1972
LOCATION: Alberta

Sharon shared this story by email: "I came from a nice traditional family, I was the oldest, born in 1962 and had two younger brothers born in 1964 and 1967. We went to church, there was no swearing in the house, mom was home for us kids. In the mid 70s, we had a record (that we played frequently on our big console stereo) that we all enjoyed — George Carlin doing funny and clean comedy sketches. We knew some of them by heart. So it seemed a coup for my dad when he snagged a copy of George Carlin’s newest record while he was on a business trip. He proudly brought it home and we all excitedly gathered around the stereo and put the new record on. Imagine the horrified reaction of my mom and dad when the “Seven words” sketch came on … and imagine the delight of my brothers (aged about 6 and 9) … there was the classic “record scratch” sound as the needle was snatched off the record but not before George repeated those seven words enough times to engrave them on our brains … I don’t know what happened to that record but we never saw or heard it again … My mom and I saw your play together yesterday and your reference to the seven words brought back this funny memory. Thanks for a wonderful play and thought provoking trip down memory lane." Thanks for sharing, Sharon!