Cry or Laugh

Were you ever in a situation where you wanted to laugh and couldn't? Or shouldn't? Or it would be just plain RUDE?
The first time it happened to me was at the funeral home during my father's wake. My father had drown. My Mom, sisters and I were in shock. We had endured hundreds of people passing by us, conveying their condolences, saying they were sorry and we were languishing in our sorrow. I am not sure what happened but as I was sobbing, I started to laugh, OUT LOUD. I stiffled it but remember how embarassed I was.
That could have happened to me today if I had not been more careful.
I have been really sad since Gerry's last diagnosis two weeks ago. My whole thinking revolved around him; his healing or non-healing his life or death and my future with him or without him. Today he got "a bed" and was moved to a bright room with a view, as opposed to spending two days in the Emergency Deptartment in a dark corner. That would be enough to make anyone give up. Gerry immediatey began to feel better after he got his new room. It was a semi-private and it wasn't long before his roomate moved it. He was an elderly gentleman known to us, who has suffered from a stoke a day or two before PLUS, I would say, has a touch of Alzheimer's. He was from a local farming community located in a valley and he may have been off the Island before but I am not sure. His wife was "coarse" as my mother would say and was well known for her love of the bottle. Her voice and coughing were testaments to her life long love of cigarettes. Poor Fred (not real name) had been housed in the Emergency Department with Gerry the night before and was telling his visiting wife about all the cows that were there last night. Gerry said he did not recall any bovines running around...and Fred said there were PIGS too.....Lots of pigs. Well, the nurse came in and was asking Fred routine questions for his admission.
Have you been to a hospital out of the province in the last 12 months......
Do you have asthma? diabetes?
Have you ever been exposed to HIV!!!! I LOST IT...I couldn't stop laughing. There was poor Fred with a shock of white hair standing on his head and mumbling in a muffled tone...Noooo.... I am glad the curtain was across. I had to stifle my laugh...
Then she asked him if he had any allergies. He said yes....he was allergic to a drug he was on one time....she asked what it was...he said...CRESTON (Crestor...a cholesterol medication)....(I could feeling a giggle starting to build up)...then she said....what are the reactions you have? And he said....they stripped the muscles from my legs...(I could feel the giggle growing....) Then his wife added...it happened to a lot of people in "THE VALLEY"....I was shaking by this time, covering my mouth with my hand.....the giggle had grown into a breathless silent LAUGH....I was picturing people in the valley with legs stripped of muscle.....THEN he said that it was no surprise since it said the muscle stripping was a side effect and it said so right on the package!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I was wheezing by now....Gerry was trying not to laugh out loud too.) And if you knew the characters in the scene it would be even funnier!
It was a stress-reliever. I am sure there was a reason Fred and Maggie were put in Gerry's room today. His cheeks grew rosier, smile grew broader and his love of laughter had risen from the dead.