When he had control of the remote I could get out of sorts
I preferred the dramas and he wanted only sports.
But on one type of programming we could usually agree.
We both got a big laugh from good old-time comedy.
Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, and Jackie Gleason jokes abounded.
Lucy and Gracie’s antics kept Desi and George astounded.
These were comedies we could watch without getting a red face,
Unlike the vulgar stuff today that is not worth the space.
But there was one special fellow that we both simply adored.
He played so many characters that we were never bored.
There was Clem Kadiddlehopper and Freddie the free loader.
Gertrude and Heathcliff were seagulls. Red just kept getting bolder.
The last time we sat together and laughed until we cried
Was only a short time before my darling husband died.
Red was playing Santa in a silly Christmas spoof.
He kept crawling towards the chimney and sliding down the roof.
It was the last time we laughed together as amused husband and wife,
One Red Skelton episode I’ll remember the rest of my life.
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