What's Old is New Again

I don't know why, but little snippets of life stick with you for a very, very long time, sometimes until they're topical again. To wit:

The scene is The Tonight Show. No, not him. Not him either. The real one, with Johnny Carson. Circa the late '70s, maybe early '80s.

[The late, great] Ed McMahon, handing Carnac an envelope (hermetically sealed, no doubt, in a mayonnaise jar since noon that day on the front porch of Funk & Wagnalls'): "The envelope, O Great One."

[The late, exceptionally great] Carnac, deadpans to camera, then holds envelope to forehead: "Eight is enough."

Ed McMahon: "Yes, [guffaw], eight is enough!"

Carnac raises an eyebrow, then with much fanfare, opens the envelope: "According to Roman Polanski, what is the age of consent?"

Ed McMahon, underscoring: "Eight is enough, [guffaw]."