Mom update. First things first. So, I woke up this evening and headed straight to the hospital, because it has been a full week since I had seen my mom. I walked into her room and was utterly shocked. She wasn't in her bed ... she was sitting in a chair. "Hey, it's Barrett!" she said. It was the first time I'd heard her voice in a month and a half. She is beginning to walk, she is eating actual food (well, hospital food at least), and is getting stronger every day. There is a good chance that tomorrow she will leave the ICU and go to the rehab floor. She said she's excited about talking to a variety of people and being able to look out a window. I know that things like walking and eating probably don't seem like much, but after six weeks of being mostly unconscious, they are outstanding strides. Just to be see her sitting up and watching the ball game was incredible.

"People need to be as self-sufficient as possible," she said. "I'm not bragging, but I am the backbone of this family. But everyone has to take care of themselves now because I can't do it. I can't even take care of myself. Hopefully now that I'm getting better, the family can get back to normal, only more self-sufficient."

I told her that this is something we've been discussing for almost two months now. It's weird to have to look out for/worry about my mom. She always was the one to on top of everything, which is probably why she won the chess game with the reaper, this time at least. The doctors say it's a miracle.

I didn't do a whole lot. On my two days off I mean. I meant to go out Saturday night, because plenty was going on. Mike Nicolai played the Brewhouse and I wanted to see that. Sloe Loris played at Beaner's, a mere three blocks from my apartment. The freaking Dames played Luce, which I have sworn to avoid, but I would have liked to see the Dames. For certain undescribable reasons, I did none of these things. But -- I did get to hang out with Space Waitress who made an impromptu visit to Duluth for a little while on Saturday afternoon. We ate dinner and she shivered in my freezing apartment. Meanwhile, I ran around closing windows. Duluth is a cool city, SW. just like the T-shirt says.

FYI. When you're working the graveyard shift for the USPS, which is awesome by the way, the greatest song in the universe is "Sleeping In" by the Postal Service. Not that the whole album isn't fantastic.

Heads-up for next weekend. If you're looking for something to do Friday, and you consider yourself a friend of mine, I'm inviting you join me and mine for CORN TO THE CORE, baby. That's right, a pre-Halloween fiasco beginning at my apartment and extending out into the further reaches of greater Wrenshall.

Things start out in the early evening at my place with a screening of the horrible horror flick Children of the Corn. Then, all hopped up on corn and whatever, we head out for "Flashlight Friday" at the Silver Brook Corn Maze.

Now, however. I got home from the hospital, realized I had no booze in the house, and then realized I had a rare opportunity to steal some (don't ask). My plan is to drink it and watch both volumes of Kill Bill, back to back. Wakey, wakey ... eggs and bakey.

And yes. That is me in the picture. Notice the small eye-holes. I'm a year old or so, a blogger in the making already with pencil in hand. I look at this photo and think, god I want those chairs, those curtains. Those pants. I want everything 1974, except the computers. Well, not everything ... if you think the corn party is going to be a key party, you can just stay home. It's going to be good clean fun. Well, relatively clean. But please check your suburban desperation at the door.

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