Not Quite Ready for Comedy Central

My dad is better today than yesterday. He's so fun to be with because he has a great sense of humor. My brother and my sister-in-law visited him last night. My heart goes out to them because he has a serious neck injury that causes him constant, severe pain, and she has lymphatic cancer. When I asked my dad how they were he said "GREAT!" "Really?!" "Yeah. They're vertical. That's better than me!" He wanted me to pay his cell phone bill, so I called, but they needed his verbal OK. So he took the phone, and when the guy asked "How are you, sir?" he said "Well, I just had a heart attack, but other than that I'm fine." All of us in the room burst out laughing. He tries to give people respect by calling them by name. Unfortunately, it's not usually the right name. Yesterday the nurse was in several times and dad would say "Thank you so much, Fred." or "You're a big help, Fred." Finally I asked the nurse "Is your name 'Ray'?", and he said "Yeah, but I love it when your dad calls me Fred." They sense his heart and know he means well. His sister, my dear aunt is here now, too, and it's fun to be all together. They have such a great sibling friendship. We're hanging in there today.