My day was spent yesterday waiting in a Hospital. Another one of Hub's brother's is in mortal trouble. He's 60 years old and lives in Atlanta. We rarely go to visit him but of all of his family, we are the closest to him. A couple of weeks after I first moved in with Hub he relocated to Atlanta and moved in our one bedroom/bath apartment for a while , taking over our futon. He accidentally saw me naked once(which was mortifying). He makes a great cup of coffee, only drink's Beck's beer and loves doo-wop.
This Brother's tangle? A large tumor inside his bladder. Hub and I sat together, mostly silent, reading magazines neither of us would normally read because we forgot to bring a book. After the operation, the Doctor comes, tells us that it went not as good as they hoped and he might have to have his bladder removed. As serious as it was, Hub and I took the news with a sense of complacency. There was no need to get pessimistic about the situation. Yet sometimes, when your avoiding pessimism with humor, the jokes you tell, if heard by a total stranger would seem odd.
It's only when you've been married to someone for quite a long time you can utter,
"If he goes, I swear I'm upping your Life insurance."
It's not that I'm emotionally barren about death, just the melodrama that comes with the fear of your own and other's mortality will, if you let it, overshadow the need to be even keeled with what needs to be done in the now.
And Hub knowing this was how I dealt with situations like these laughed and said, "Maybe so" and laughed accordingly.
When we came home I started reading this collection of short stories by Etgar Keret. Ridiculously good writer that Etgar Keret. I found him by watching this movie called the "Wrist Cutters- A Love Story. It was based on his story called Kneller's Happy Campers. It was one of those well received indie flicks starring Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, and Tom Waits.
I had low expectations at first but was intrigued within the first five minutes. The plot? Hero is going through a break up, slits his wrists and when he dies, finds out that suicides end up in this alternate world that looks like the second day driving across Texas. It's pretty much like life just a little worse. You can't smile. It's hot all the time. There are no stars in the sky and everybody is kinda of an jerk. He finds out the woman he offed himself for has done the same thing and he goes to look for her. On the road trip to find her, he and his Russian friend(who killed himself on stage by pouring "dead guy ale"onto his guitar) picks up the Shannyn Sossamon's character who is looking for the "people in charge" because she's here by mistake. They run into Tom Waits and his compound where "miracles" happen. Everyone there can perform miracles there but Patrick Fugit's character. He asks why and Waits replies something to the effect, that it's easy, it just can't matter.
This concept befuddled me and I have to admit I still don't get this or it's reasoning. Miracles can only happen when it doesn't matter to you?
Then again, I might just be a stranger overhearing Etgar Keret's joke without the inner context.
Nevertheless, a quirky and interesting movie that I much enjoyed and led me to a writer that I know is going to be a new favorite.
I've just signed the contract so it must be official now. 
