New York Federal Art Project, 1939Library of Congress WPA poster archive
Yes, I do relate to the mask on the right, at the moment...
Post-op laughing is to be avoided: it causes awful stomach pain, as I knew from Clever Sister's previous multiple surgeries. Those started when she was in her teens; the technology then made hers more ghastly experiences than what I'm having, since laparoscopic procedures a few days ago.
I spent the first couple nights at CS' place, where she went all out to nurse me. Her effort to keep me distracted included some comedy DVDs—fortunately, not all that hilarious.
As I realized I do need to avoid laughing, I remembered one of CS' previous gruesome surgeries. She was on her way home from some days in a California hospital on November 5, 1994. A big part of the history was that CS had been forced to live through many years of severe pain, with no medical acknowledgement of the problem—until the first dire emergency had landed her in an operating room.
It was 6 PM that November day. I waited to speak to my brother-in-law and, unable to focus on anything, I switched on the tube; it happened, just as evening news began. Lead story: the public announcement that Reagan had Alzheimer's.
Despite CS' having to suffer the ride over potholed roads of already decaying infrastructure—just as I did, almost twenty years of public disinvestment later—they got home safely, and the call came.
I had to tell brother-in-law, "I don't want to make CS laugh, but: I just had the news on, the big story was Reagan has Alzheimer's—and CS thinks it took her a long time to be diagnosed!"
He laughed and repeated it to CS. I could hear her in the background: "Ha, ha! Ouch! Don't make me laugh! Ha,ha! Ouch!..."
Brother-in-law added: having lived in CA when Reagan was governor, he saw plenty of signs then.
For me, in November 2011: post-surgery smiling, unlike laughing, does no harm. When I could manage to check, there was at least some news to smile about—election results from Ohio and elsewhere; from Mississippi, somewhat.
Trying to keep the patient distracted, CS picked up a copy of The Onion, which had been very funny the last couple of weeks. The pre-Halloween issue's Record Year For Abortion Restrictions, and terrifying tales of the economy, told by dead-itorial writer, Paul "Bearer" Krugman, had me laughing out loud. As did the following week's Remains Of Ancient Race Of Job Creators Found In Rust Belt.
Mercifully, under my circumstances, this week's material wasn't that good.
Though, just as I was about to put the thing down, I spotted this, to bring on the post-op pain.
And this.
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