I grew up listening to Steven Wright, the comedian. To me, he was like George Carlin's kid brother. Not as mature and developed, but quirky and insightful in his own right. I still remember so many of his jokes which are still timeless today. Jokes that evoke a curiosity and unique perspective on the world rather than a self-deprecating, self-indulgent, or judgmental look at the world.
Without googling anything, these are a few that I remember. There are literally hundreds.
- It is a good thing there is gravity, otherwise when birds died, they would just stay up there.
- I live at the end of a one-way dead end street. I don't know how I go here.
- I got a dog and walked him all at once. I said, "there, now you're done"
- I want to get a tattoo of myself on my body, only taller.
To have that kind of staying power as a comedian, especially during the cancel culture of today's generation, speaks tremendously of his talent and relevance.
Winston and I used to listen to old mixed tapes of comedy albums and just for laughs episodes and Stephen Wright was a staple for us. He misunderstood the world and it misunderstood him in much the same way as it treated us. We could relate. Why was it that the things you learn in school don't really translate the way you think they will outside of the training we received?
Between Stephen Wright and George Carlin, I learned that words and language are so important. I see this particularly as I get older. It sounds like an old man yelling at the clouds, but I understood language better than most of my peers who, in turn, understand language much better than today's youth. That puts me in a unique and enviable position. As the world toward AI for easy solutions, the person who can think independently and can verify authenticity will be come highly sought after as these skills are not being taught or learned organically by a generation that is more readily accepting of the content that that bombards them incessantly. /End old man rant.
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