Is he farting too?

Castro Walking, screams the headline.

HAVANA (AP) -- Fidel Castro is sitting up, walking, talking and even working some during his recovery from intestinal surgery that forced him to step aside temporarily as president, the Communist Party newspaper said Saturday on the eve of the leader's 80th birthday.

The report on the front page of Granma was the most optimistic report since the July 31 announcement that Cuba's longtime leader had undergone surgery and was temporarily ceding presidential powers to his brother Raul, the No. 2 in the government.

The paper headlined its three-paragraph story ''Firm Like a Caguarian,'' comparing Castro to a hardwood tropical tree native to eastern Cuba.

I told you. He ain't dying. Ever.