An unusually subdued Fancy Ray called from L.A. in November to ask whether I had seen the WCCO-TV report about the difficult recovery of Vernice Hall.

Hall is the Minneapolis teen who was shot in the head outside a house party for her brother in September by a purported gang member.

"How do I get in touch with her?" Ray asked. "Somebody called me from Minneapolis and said she had a picture of me up on the wall in her hospital room. Did you see it?" said Ray, the normally noisy self-proclaimed "Best Looking Man in Comedy," who splits time between here and L.A.

I was doing chores and using the TV for background noise. As Heather Brown, a good, hard-working reporter, told Vernice's sad story through interviews with Hall's parents, I was eventually compelled to look at what I had been listening to on TV. I missed the clip that captured a photo of Fancy Ray in Vernice's hospital room. With his long-distance help, I called up the story on WCCO.com and saw him while he kept saying "Wow" softly over the phone.

"I'm coming to town to do some shows and spend Christmas with my boy, Trevón. I'm going to go see Vernice," he said. "Absolutely. I did a show at the Sumner Library and I know they had to get that picture there. I brought it specifically for that show.

"You know, kids in Minneapolis have a real strong connection with me. The Hosmer Library every year, for eight to 10 years, has been doing a show. I do a talent show," he said. Lapsing into his silly side, Ray said, "I bring all the kids together and put that Fancy Ray love, joy and optimism in their hearts and tell them to reach out and do well in school."

On Friday morning, Ray saw Vernice.

"I went and saw my girl today. I just went in there and was talking my stuff, spreading a little sunshine and joy. I had a little teddy bear for her. I'm talking and talking and doing one of my beautiful poems and I saw a GLIMMER, a glimmer, of a smile on her face. I told her, 'My dad is praying for you, I've got people in California praying for you. You have a lot of people thinking about you and wishing you well.' She communicates through blinking her eyes. She was blinking a little bit," he said.

"It was nice, very positive. Hospital personnel there and more people came in, so I had a little audience. I didn't do this so the media could follow me over there. I did this for Vernice."

One tardy tree The Christmas spirit was flagging at the old Flagship Athletic Club.

A Christmas tree didn't go up until last week at what is now called Eden Prairie Athletic Center, which is part of the Life Time Fitness family. There were lots of complaints, because it normally goes up much earlier.

A member called to tell me that when she complained to someone in the corporate office, the member was told, If you want a Christmas tree, you can wear one on your head.

Life Time Fitness's Lynn Pahl, who laughed with me when I repeated the wise crack to her, said, "I don't find it funny or appropriate at all."

Oh, it's kind of funny.

A dumb what? Calling "American Idol" alum Paris Bennett the b-word and putting "dumb" in front of it got B96's Tone E. Fly verbally dressed down.

"I had a severe talking to him," B96 GM Steve Woodbury told me Friday when asked whether the radio personality known to the IRS as Anthony Distasio was disciplined. "In fact we had a meeting. We're not going to use that kind of terminology anymore. I wouldn't want my daughters called that. I'm really upset about that. First of all, Paris is a friend."

My first question to Disastio was: Do you call your wife a dumb b.?

"Do I? No," Distasio said.

Asked whether he doesn't like Paris Bennett, he said: "No, I don't have any personal animosity" toward Paris.

That's not what her mom, Jamecia Bennett, thinks. Bennett suspects that Distasio is smarting because she tries to steer Paris clear of his brand of radio.

"What do I tell her?" Bennett said tearfully. "She doesn't understand why he doesn't like her. She doesn't understand why he [would] call her names like this on the radio. It's just not right. Why would you even form that in your mouth? What would make you that angry with her, as a child? She's not even old enough to drink."

Distasio apologized on air Friday. "I turned the microphone off [Thursday] and looked at everybody in the studio and said, 'I shouldn't have said that. That's awful.' I feel bad for making the comment."

Because B96 bleeps that word out of song lyrics, Woodbury said he doesn't want talent saying it.

Birthday surprise Kirk Franklin flew his wife, Tammy, back to Minneapolis last week for part of her birthday surprise.

The gospel music singer made his wife wear a blindfold and earplugs on the plane, said MidAmerica Talent's Jeff Taube, who managed Tammy when she sang here with the group Ashanti.

They stayed in a suite at Graves, where her former singing partners Da'Vidra West and Letitia Calhoun-Smith were waiting. The Franklins also ate steak at Morton's and hit the Mall of America.

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. More of her attitude can be seen on FOX9 Thursday mornings.