Let Me Down Easy

The older brother was on vacation in Europe and his younger brother called him
and said, "Your cat died."

The older brother is in tears. "I loved that cat. I've had that cat for 20 years. You can't just blurt out bad news on the phone like that. You need to let me know gradually. You should have called and told me the cat was on the roof or something. Then the next day, tell me the cat still won't come down. Then after you slowly work up to it, you can tell me the cat died."

The younger brother apologizes and says he'll learn to be more sensitive in the future.

"By the way," the older brother adds, "How's Mom"?

After a long silence, the younger brother says, "She's up on the