After reading my cousin Ty's comment, I was reminded of a Carlin related story.  Back in the '70s, Pacifica Radio was sued by a parent.  One of its stations played Carlin's famous "Seven Dirty Words" routine, the one I referenced in my last blog.  The case made it all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

We read the opinion in my Constitutional Law class at DePaul.  Our teacher, Professor Blackman, was a big First Amendment guy.  He was also odd, the type of guy you imagined might still live with his mother.  He walked slightly hunched over, his lower lip jutted out a bit and shined with saliva, and he talked in a gruff voice -- he sounded like the older brother of Reverend Jim from the show Taxi.

So as we began to discuss the case, he hobbled up one of the aisles of the lecture hall.  He was apparently searching for the most easily embarrassed person.  [Note -- I am going to change the person's name to protect the truly innocent]

He spied a reticent Yankee, who I'll call Greg Harger.  "Mr. Harger, can you tell me what the seven dirty words are that George Carlin said you couldn't say on television?"  Greg stammered and no words came out.  Blackman said, even louder, "Mr. Harger, what are the seven dirty words?  Say them!"  Greg was truly flustered.  He was blushing bright red.  "Mr Harger, what are they?  Huh? Huh?"

Greg finally got out "Shit", in a high, nervous voice.  Blackman then said, "C'mon, you can do it!"  And Greg slowly went through the others.  It was painful.  Painful because we were trying to hold in the laughter, even as we knew how cruel the professor was being.

That was one of the more interesting moments of my first year of law school.