Just got home. I was going to write up a piece about what I did today but I see on Facebook that my pal Alan Brennert already posted something I can steal. A number of writers have done very well stealing from Alan. Here's what he wrote…
So today my pal Mark Evanier and I went to see my old friend and colleague Harlan Ellison, who is recovering from a stroke he suffered last week. This was without a doubt the cheeriest, often laugh-out-loud funniest, hospital visit I've ever paid. Harlan's right arm and leg may be paralyzed, but his mind and wit definitely are not. He kept answering the phone, "Hello, Just This Side of Death, how can I help you?" and continued in his futile attempts to explain who Vera Hruba Ralston was to the very efficient, very nice, very young doctors and nurses caring for him.
Mark and I showed up as Harlan was finishing his physical therapy, and we were soon joined by David Gerrold and Josh Olson and his wife Nancy Himmel. There was much more comedy, but we'll be releasing the entire session on CD and iTunes as Harlan: Live From the Stroke Ward on the Edgeworks label. No, I made that up, but we could have. It was great to see Harlan in such fine form after what could have been such a debilitating injury.
I don't have much to add except that Harlan is doing fine and it was not unamusing to see the puzzled looks of the nurses and orderlies who were trying to pretend they understood two-thirds of what he said. Merry as the room was, it reminded me of the scene in All That Jazz where Joe Gideon turns his hospital room into a 24/7 party with interesting visitors and scintillating conversation. I assume Harlan will be going home soon. If not, I'll go back and enjoy more of the best show in town.