Saturday, April 14, 2007

This time, a great kids' night



Hi everyone:

Before I describe the picture above, let me first talk about Patty's day. She was at Edward Hospital by 8:30 am to start another round of Rituxan/Cytoxan. I have to say that I admire Patty's resilience in going back time and again, in spite of her misgivings. In an attempt to stave off headaches after the infusion, her doctors ordered a shot of Demerol before the process began. Within moments of the injection, Patty had a "foggy" look on her face, analogous to how Jack Nicholson was presented in the later scenes of Cuckoo's Nest. I took several pictures, which provided me endless moments of mirth; unfortunately, Patty exercised her content veto, so you can't see the pics...unless, of course, I won't get caught showing you. They are HILARIOUS!!! Today, Patty had early nausea, and has been very tired, but is otherwise faring pretty well.

Okay, back to the picture. Last night, PJ, Kelly and Connor, along with Kelly's good friend Allison (a replacement for Patty, who just couldn't muster the energy for two consecutive nights out), were the guests of the British band Placebo and their management at their House of Blues concert. After the amazing, high-energy show, Steve Hewitt, the band's drummer, gave me a set of signed drumsticks to give to Patty (and, pointing to the kids, said, "And don't give them to this lot.") Patty was quite happy to receive these when we arrived home in the wee hours. Kelly was hoping that Patty would break up the set and share the wealth; in this case, no dice. Steve was a great guy.

Stefan Olsdal, the lead guitarist, proved to be incredibly down-to-earth, warm and charming; for several minutes, he sat on the floor between Kelly and Allison and carried on a quiet conversation about the kids' summer. He did this even though he had friends and family members patiently waiting for more of his time. He was generous about signing autographs and taking pictures, and wished Patty the best several times. Thank you, Stefan.

Kelly was very disappointed that Brian Molko, the lead singer, could not join us because he was feeling flu-like symptoms; I believe what I heard was, "Oh, but he's soooooo HOT!!!" I can't comment on his relative temperature, but I will say that they put on a very good show. Before we left, Stefan encouraged us to contact them again during their next visit to Chicago, when perhaps Patty and the singer Brian would both be feeling better and could say hello. I think he was entirely sincere.

Today, I am belatedly taking Kelly to purchase a birthday present, and hoping for some late-inning heroics from the Sox, who currently trail Cleveland 2-0 in the sixth inning. PJ is visiting his girlfriend Kelsey, and Connor is playing with friends outside. Patty is sound asleep on the sofa. That's our day so far...

Love,
Brian

P.S. Alex -- thank you so much for everything.

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