Oh yes, she finally made an appearance this year. She�d been away far too long, and I�m pleased to say that her return was, as most of her performances are, punctuated with much sloshed beer, but she managed to spill most of it down the front of her own shirt. All was well.

There are muscles aching today that haven�t been used since, well, maybe the Robbie Fulks show on my birthday, but that was nearly 5 months ago.

I can�t adequately express how great the Jack Ingram/Star Room Boys show was on Saturday night. The Star Room Boys were quite pleasant; the voice of the lead singer was very Jay Bennett. We sat politely at the bar, sipping our beer and making friends with a little fellow from out-of-town (he was wearing shorts, sneakers and a t-shirt from his former high school, the poor thing). Okay, well, I was a bit loud about my disapproval of some frat boy type who bought a Bud Lite bottle and failed to tip. Two strikes against him.

But with the promise of Handsome Jack, well, we took our much-neglected spots near the stage. And I have to say, that was the nicest crowd I�ve ever witnessed at a show. I swear. The crazy dancing fellow was there (but he�s bad news, see, due to the wife-beater, the enthusiastic body odor and the penchant for shouting every word to every song along with the band), but he was on the other side, and he (get this!) didn�t know the words. People were polite when beer/bathroom breaks necessitated leaving and returning. All in all, a gracious and loving crowd.

Did I mention that Jack and the band rocked, too? The drummer had my hairstyle. That�s an issue I�ll be working through this week.

What else of interest? Though the Bears lost rather miserably, the town seemed to recover from the game easily. Traffic was heavy as we headed home, but nothing horrible at all. I was, I admit, a bit disappointed in the non-event. A girl does love to rant and rave.

So yesterday was the day to catch up on the first 8 episodes of the second season of Six Feet Under, to which I�m miserably addicted. I had such hopes and dreams for the day, but once I start an episode, I�m powerless to stop. Just add it to the list of addictions.

I just heard that I woman has climbed the microwave tower near a local hospital and is threatening to jump. Better turn off the tunes and try some AM radio.

All friends are accounted for.