Great thread idea!

We have a weird friend ... several actually ... who has kept several of her body parts. Tonsills, teeth, and a couple of things she won't talk about.

When I was heading for my hip replacement surgery a year ago, she begged me to save her my old hip bones. I dutifly made this request of the doctor and he turned me down. He mumbled somthing about new state laws, mumbled more about wierd patients, and I let the request drop.

Several weeks after my surgery Bride Judy and I bought a large ham. As I boned it out, I realized that the "ham bone" was a full hip and ball joint, just like I'd had replaced. And, because it was large, and I am not, it looked very similiar to mine. (I knew this because I asked the doctor to wake me on the table and show me my old bone).

I boiled all the meat off the ham bone, put it in a fancy box, and presented it to our friend, not excatly telling her that it was MY bone, but also not excatly telling her it wasn't!

I thought she was going to go into rapture, right then and there. She carried it and waved it around the room, showed it to everyone, until I could no longer keep a straight face. Judy didn't help either.

I finally confessed the truth. We're still friends, but it took some work on my part! Cheers, Bob