Everybody's A Joker

It's rare for my father to be quiet, but that's exactly what he was on our drive back home from the hospital. We had just visited my uncle who was there for, well, for not very much longer, at least according to him. Cancer isn't quite the death sentence it used to be, but it's still pretty scary. Especially if you're the one who has it.

     As I drove, I would look over at my dad every now and then to make sure he was okay. Each time I'd see him looking out of his window. What he was thinking about, I couldn't tell you. Maybe he was contemplating losing his younger brother. Maybe he was seeing his own mortality in the distance. Only he, and perhaps The Amazing Kreskin, know for sure.

     Myself, I was thinking about the last time I took my father to see his doctor. He was there to get a flu shot. The doctor came in, gave him a quick once-over, and told him, "You'll live to make many more payments to me."

     Everybody's a joker.

     Meanwhile, a male nurse came in to give my father his injection. He was short, which made the needle look even larger in his hand. 

     My father's eyes grew wide.

     "Hey!" he said. "What's this all about?"

     Hmm... maybe I should have told my father what he was there for.

     "Come on," the doctor teased him. "It's just a little prick."

     "Yeah," my father answered, "but what's he gonna do with that needle?"

 

 

Raising My Father

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