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I am no stranger to profanity, God knows, but I prefer to use it sparingly. That way, it adds flavor and emphasis to the conversation. Overdoing it is like dumping too much chile powder into the stew. But that’s just one guy’s opinion.

The subject came to mind recently as I was reading the transcripts of some old George Carlin comedy routines.

Carlin, the celebrated comedian, died 10 years ago. People remember him as a caustic critic of society and culture — a master of black comedy, satire, sarcasm, and, notably, profanity.

As you may recall, Carlin’s “Seven Dirty Words” comedy routine made legal history. In 1973, a father complained to the FCC that a radio station in New York had broadcast the routine without bleeping the dirty words. The FCC reprimanded the radio station. Lawyers promptly filed lawsuits.

In 1978, the Supreme Court upheld the FCC in the case and said the FCC has an obligation to censor as appropriate to shield children from offensive material. (Carlin’s routine, the court said, was “indecent but not obscene.”)

Carlin was hugely talented, one of our greatest comedians. But sometimes, I found myself wishing he would dial back the profanity. His routines (not counting “Seven Dirty Words,” mind you) wouldn’t suffer.

As it happened, spicy Carlin was the only option. And I’m okay with that.

My personal favorite Carlin routine is “A Place For My Stuff.” Another winner: “Interview With Jesus.”

Here are the transcripts.

A Place For My Stuff

Actually, this is just a place for my stuff, you know? That’s all, a little place for my stuff. That’s all I want, that’s all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, you know?

I can see it on your table. Everybody’s got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that’s your stuff, that’ll be his stuff over there. That’s all you need in life, a little place for your stuff.

That’s all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn’t have so much stuff, you wouldn’t need a house. You could just walk around all the time.

A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you’re taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody’s got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff.

And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn’t want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that crap you’re saving. All they want is the shiny stuff. That’s what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get… more stuff!

Sometimes, you gotta move — gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore.

Did you ever notice when you go to somebody else’s house, you never quite feel a hundred percent at home? You know why? No room for your stuff! Somebody else’s stuff is all over the (expletive deleted) place!

And if you stay overnight, unexpectedly, they give you a little bedroom to sleep in. Bedroom they haven’t used in about 11 years. Someone died in it, 11 years ago. And they haven’t moved any of his stuff!

Right next to the bed, there’s usually a dresser or a bureau of some kind, and there’s NO ROOM for your stuff on it. Somebody else’s (expletive deleted) is on the dresser.

Have you noticed that their stuff is (expletive deleted), and your (expletive deleted) is stuff? God! And you say, “Get that (expletive deleted) off of there, and let me put my stuff down!”

Sometimes, you leave your house to go on vacation. And you gotta take some of your stuff with you. Gotta take about two big suitcases full of stuff when you go on vacation. You gotta take a smaller version of your house.

It’s the second version of your stuff. And you’re gonna fly all the way to Honolulu. Gonna go across the continent, across half an ocean, to Honolulu. You get down to the hotel room in Honolulu, and you open up your suitcase, and you put away all your stuff.

Here’s a place here, put a little bit of stuff there, put some stuff here, put some stuff — you put your stuff there, I’ll put some stuff — here’s another place for stuff, look at this, I’ll put some stuff here.

And even though you’re far away from home, you start to get used to it. You start to feel okay, because after all, you do have some of your stuff with you.

That’s when your friend calls up from Maui, and says, “Hey, why don’t you come over to Maui for the weekend and spend a couple of nights over here?”

Oh, no! Now what do I pack? Right, you’ve gotta pack an even SMALLER version of your stuff. The third version of your house. Just enough stuff to take to Maui for a couple of days.

You get over to Maui — I mean, you’re really getting extended now, when you think about it. You got stuff ALL the way back on the mainland, you got stuff on another island, you got stuff on this island. I mean, supply lines are getting longer and harder to maintain.

You get over to your friend’s house on Maui, and he gives you a little place to sleep, a little bed right next to his window sill or something. You put some of your stuff up there. You put your stuff up there.

You got your Visine, you got your nail clippers, and you put everything up. It takes about an hour and a half, but after a while you finally feel okay, say, “All right, I got my nail clippers, I must be okay.”

That’s when your friend says, “Aaaaay, I think tonight we’ll go over the other side of the island, visit a pal of mine and maybe stay over.”

Aww, no! NOW what do you pack? Right — you gotta pack an even SMALLER version of your stuff. The fourth version of your house.

Only the stuff you know you’re gonna need. Money, keys, comb, wallet, lighter, hanky, pen, smokes, rubber, and change.

Well, only the stuff you HOPE you’re gonna need.

Interview With Jesus

I: Ladies and gentlemen, we are privileged to have with us a man known all over the world as the Prince of Peace: Jesus Christ. How are you, Jesus?

JC: Fine, thanks, and let me say, it’s great to be back.

I: Can you tell us, after all this time, why you came back?

JC: Mostly nostalgia.

I: Well, could you tell us, Jesus, a little about the first time you were here?

JC: Well, there’s not much to tell. I think everybody knows the story by now. I was born on Christmas.

I: Yes.

JC: And, uh, actually, that always bothered me, because, uh, that way, I only got one present. You know, if I was born a couple months earlier, I woulda had two presents. But look, I’m not complaining. It’s only material.

I: Were you really born in a stable?

JC: Nah. I was born in a hospital. Bethlehem Jewish Hospital. But the hospital was located in a stable. That’s how the story got started.

I: And is it true that there was no room at the inn?

JC: Oh, no, they had room. It’s just that we didn’t have reservations. My father, Joseph — God bless him — he was a simple man. He didn’t travel much. He forgot to make reservations.

I: There’s a story that there were three wise men.

JC: Well, there were three kings who showed up. Uh, I don’t know how wise they were. They didn’t look wise. They said they followed a star. That don’t sound wise to me.

I: Didn’t they bring gifts?

JC: Yes. Gold, frankincense, and, I believe, myrrh, which I never did find out what that was. You wouldn’t happen to know what myrrh is for, do you?

I: Well, I believe it’s a reddish-brown, bitter, gum resin.

JC: Oh, great, great! Just what I need — a gum resin! What am I going to do with a gum resin? I’d rather have the money. That way, I could go out and buy something I need. You know, something I wouldn’t normally buy for myself.

I: What would that be?

JC: Oh, I don’t know. A bathing suit. I never had a bathing suit. Maybe a Devo hat. A bicycle. I really coulda used a bicycle. You realize all the walkin’ I did? I musta crossed Canaan six, eight times. Up and down, north and south. Walkin’ and talkin’. Doin’ miracles, tellin’ stories.

I: Tell us about the miracles. How many miracles did you perform?

JC: A total of 107 miracles, not counting the loaves and the fishes.

I: Why don’t you count the loaves and the fishes?

JC: Well, technically, that one wasn’t a miracle.

I: It wasn’t?

JC: No. Turns out, a lot of people were puttin’ ’em back. Didn’t like ’em. Actually, not all those miracles were pure miracles anyway.

I: (Surprised) What do you mean? What were they if they weren’t miracles?

JC: Well, some of them were parlor tricks, optical illusions, mass hypnosis. We had hallucinations, even acupressure. That was how I cured most of the blind guys. Acupressure.

I: So, not all of the New Testament is true.

JC: No. Some of that gospel stuff never happened at all. It was just made up. Luke and Mark used a lot of drugs. See, Luke was a physician and he had access to drugs. Matthew and John were okay, but Luke and Mark would write anything.

I: What about raising Lazarus from the dead?

JC: First of all, he wasn’t dead. He was hung over. I told people that.

I: But in the Bible, you said he was dead.

JC: Uh-uh. I said he looked dead. I said, “Hey! He looks dead!” You see, Lazarus was a very heavy sleeper. Plus, the day before, we had been to a wedding feast and he had put away a lot of wine.

I: Ah, was that the Wedding Feast at Cana, where you changed the water into wine?

JC: Uh, I don’t know. I, uh, we went to an awful lot of wedding feasts in those days.

I: But did you really ever turn water into wine?

JC: Not that I know of. Uh, one time, I did turn apple juice into milk, but I really don’t remember the water and wine thing.

I: All right, speaking of water, let me ask you about another miracle: walking on the water. I mean, did that really happen?

JC: Oh, yeah, that was one that really happened. You see, the problem was, I could do it, the other guys couldn’t do it. They were jealous. Peter got mad at me, so he got these shoes made. Special big shoes that if you start out walkin’ real fast, you can float on the water for awhile. Then of course, after a few yards, la–la–la–looms, he goes right down into the water. He sinks like a rock. That’s why I call him Peter. “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock, I shall build my Church.”

I: Well, that brings up the Apostles. Uh, what can you tell us about the Apostles?

JC: Well, they were a good bunch of guys, you know. They smelled a little like bait, but oh, they was a good bunch of guys. Thirteen of ’em we had.

I: Thirteen? The Bible says there were only twelve.

JC: Well that was according to St. Luke and I told you about Luke. Actually, we had 13 apostles. We had Peter, James, John, Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James — that’s a different James — Thaddeus… Let’s see, how many is that?

I: That’s 10.

JC: Okay. Uh, Simon, Judas, and Red.

I: Red?

JC: Yeah. We call him “Red the Apostle.”

I: Red the Apostle?

JC: Uh-hmm.

I: He doesn’t appear in the Bible.

JC: Nah. He kept pretty much to himself. He never came to any of the miracles. He was a little strange. He thought the Red Sea was named after him.

I: What about Judas?

JC: Hey, don’t get me started on Judas.

I: Okay. Well, what about the other apostles. Uh, say for instance, Thomas. Was he really a doubter?

JC: This guy, Thomas, you couldn’t tell him nothin’, you know? He was always askin’ me for my ID. Soon as I see him — “Got any ID?” To this day, he doesn’t believe I’m God.

I: Are you God?

JC: Well, partly. You know that. I’m a member of the Trinity.

I: Yes, in fact you’ve written a book about the Trinity, haven’t you.

JC: That’s right. It’s called, “Three’s a Crowd.”

I: “Three’s a Crowd.”

JC: Um-hmm.

I: As I understand it, it’s nothing more than a thinly-veiled attack on the Holy Ghost.

JC: Listen, it’s not an attack. You wanna know what it is? I don’t get along with the Holy Ghost, all right? So I leave him alone. That’s it. What he does is his business.

I: Well, why? What’s the reason?

JC: Well, first of all, you never know who he’s gonna be. Every day he shows up, he’s somethin’ different. One day he comes in the meetin’, he’s a dove. Another day he’s a tongue of fire. Always foolin’ around. (annoyed) Listen, I don’t bother with the guy. I don’t wanna know about him. I don’t see him. I don’t talk to him.

I: Well, let me change the subject. Is there really a place called Hell?

JC: Oh, yeah, there’s a Hell. Sure. There’s also a Heck. It’s not as severe, but we got Heck and Hell.

I: What about Purgatory?

JC: No. Don’t know nothin’ about no Purgatory. We got Heaven, Hell, Heck, and Limbo.

I: What is Limbo like?

JC: I don’t know. No one’s allowed in there. If anyone was in there, it wouldn’t be Limbo. Then it would be a place.

I: Getting back to your previous visit, Jesus, what can you tell us about The Last Supper?

JC: Well, first of all, if I had known I was gonna be crucified, I woulda had a bigger meal. You never want to be crucified on an empty stomach.

I: The Crucifixion must have been terrible.

JC: It was awful, I gotta tell ya. Unless you’ve gone through it yourself, you could never know how painful it was. And tiring. It was very, very tiring and embarrassing. I think, more than anything, it was embarrassing. You know, right in front of everybody to be crucified. But I don’t know, I guess it redeemed a lot of people.

I: Were you scared?

JC: Yeah. Near the end, I thought it was gonna rain. I was afraid I might get hit by lightning. But, all in all, I would say when I was here, I had a good time.

I: What do you think about Christianity?

JC: Well, I’m a little embarrassed by it. Uh, if I had to do it over again, I think I would start one of them Eastern religions, like Buddha did. Now, Buddha was smart. That’s why he’s laughing.

I: You wouldn’t want to be a Christian?

JC: No. I would never want to be a member of any group whose symbol is a man nailed onto two pieces of wood. Especially if it’s me! Buddha’s laughing, I’m on the cross!

I: I have a few more questions; do you mind?

JC: Hey, be my guest. How often do I get here?

I: Are there really angels?

JC: Well, not as many as we used to have. Years ago, we had millions of ’em. Today, you can’t get the young people to join. You know, it got too dangerous, with radar and heat-seeking missiles.

I: What about guardian angels?

JC: Well, we still have guardian angels, but now it’s one angel for every six people. Years ago, everybody had his own angel.

I: Do you really answer prayers?

JC: No. First of all, most of ’em don’t even get through. I mean, you got sunspots, you got radio interference. Years ago we answered them all. But years ago, there were less people. And people prayed for something simple then — to light a fire, to catch a yak; somethin’ like that. But today, you got people prayin’ for hockey teams, people prayin’ for longer fingernails. We just can’t keep up with it.

I: Well, I think we’re just about out of time. I certainly want to thank you for visiting with us.

JC: Hey, no sweat.

I: Do you have any last thoughts or words of advice?

JC: What — you mean how to remove perspiration stains from a garment, somethin’ like that?

I: No, I mean spiritual advice.

JC; Well, I don’t know how spiritual it is, but I’d say one thing is, don’t give your money to the church. They should be givin’ their money to you.

I: Well, thank you Jesus, and good night.

JC: Well, good night. Thanks for having me on here today. By the way, big bands are definitely not comin’ back.

———

In my next post, more classic Carlin.