The Artist Is Present

“Waylon [Jennings] really is the master of the one-liner.  He got off a great one  when he and I were recovering from bypass surgery together, which is a story in itself.  It started when I went to visit him in the hospital.  His doctor saw me and didn’t like the way I looked, so he sent me off to another room for heart function tests, and the next thing I knew, he was asking, ‘Who do I call to cancel your vacation?’ The following day I was in the operating room.  The surgery was successful, though it’s not something I’d call a pleasant way to pass the time.  I felt at least three-quarters dead in the few days after it, and Waylon said he felt the same.  It definitely qualified as a close encounter with our mortality.  Waylon was in my room with me when a nurse’s aide came in and started cleaning the place up.  We stopped talking while she worked and watched her puffing and panting through her work, having a hard time of it because she was pretty seriously overweight.  She finished up in just a couple of minutes and exited sweating. ‘Whew,’ said Waylon, weakly. ‘I’m sure glad she didn’t sing.’” - Johnny Cash