On The Island Of Sodor

When I was growing up my sister and I watched a lot of PBS. From Sesame Street to Mr. Rodgers we were avid fans. On Saturdays we would watch Shining Time Station, a nice show about a train station run by the woman, who was the beauty school drop out from Greas,e and other colorful characters. It made trains and train riding look romantic and fun (a notion that was quickly put to rest after my first time on an Amtrak). The best part of this show was when Mr. Conductor would show up and tell stories about Thomas the Tank engine and his friends. Mr. Conductor was played by Ringo Star until he went to the North Pole with Santa during the Christmas special, after that Mr. Conductor was portrayed by George Carlin. So it was that many a childhood lesson was taught to me by George Carlin’s voice.

George Carlin is one of Steve’s favorite comedians so last week when he was in town Steve got tickets for the two of us to go see him. Now, I know George Carlin has a dark sense of humor, and I knew he probably wouldn’t be talking about his time with Thomas the Tank Engine, but I was a bit surprised when he came out on stage yelling “F-ck Lance Amstrong and his ball!” All notions of Mr. Conductor being a small friendly man went right out the door.

By the end of the night George Carlin was no longer Mr. Conductor and I lost a little part of my childhood.