He blew my mind with his sharp wit , his unending vocabulary and his appetite for music . When I went up to see him the night before I left for France , he was zoning in and out - the push of the pain and the pull of the powerful medication pumping straight into his spine . When I arrived , he heard my voice and rallied : his eyes opened , he spoke a sentence in whatever voice he could gather , and he pulled his severely cracked lips into a smile .
With that wry smile on his face , Carlo spelled the name of the pain medication that was easing him through .
Emotion: Joy