It wasn’t funny. And yet it was. It reminded us of the old “Who’s on first?” bit that Abbot and Costello make famous.
She got a phone call from someone she knew back in her home town. It was Janey, calling to see how my mom was doing and to let us know that her husband had died. Their non-sequitur conversation ended with mom handing the phone back to my brother, who explained that my mom was feeling a little disoriented.
And then it began, with mom:
Janey’s husband.
Who’s Janey?
You remember, Mom, She’s Uncle John’s sister.
Uncle John?
Yes, remember he was married to your sister Susie, and when she died, he married Emma?
Susie died?
Yes, mom, a long time ago. Remember her husband John?
Did he die?
Yes, he died a couple of years ago.
Who died?
Janey’s husband.
Who’s Janey?
And that went on until my brother and I were laughing so hard that even my mother started giggling.
And so seem to more frequently go the conversations on this mountain — absurd comedy sketches that make you laugh so that you don’t cry.