Maryann and I headed out to see Aunt Rita in the hospital today. Maryann picked me up at 6 AM, in anticipation of driving an hour to Pomona so we could arrive in plenty of time for the MRI that was slated for 8 AM.

Of course, Hospital Standard Time is something else again. When we arrived, we found out that the MRI was actually scheduled for 3 PM.

But Maryann, who is a nurse, was able to go into the MRI room with Aunt Rita, who had some claustrophobia issues the last time she had to get MRIs done. They gave her a mild sedative to help take the edge off the anxiety, and she came through the testing like a trouper. I am SO RELIEVED that she's had the MRI and they're able to start acting on the results with things like physical therapy exercises.

Meanwhile, in the Outside World, we were hit with a string of sad headlines today. First of all, I noticed at the crack of dawn this morning that popular Philly radio talk show host Irv Homer had passed away. :( Then, during the course of the day I started seeing "Breaking News" text messages coming in from CNN. First was the report that Farrah Fawcett had died. Then came the mind-boggling news, late in the afternoon, that Michael Jackson had been rushed to the hospital in a state of cardiac arrest(!). Not long afterward, another text from CNN reported that Michael Jackson was in a coma. We left for home a little while later, and by the time I got home the news had started to break that Michael Jackson had died. What the HECK? He was only 50 years old. What an unexpected shame. :( RIP to all these people.

I'm on the verge of keeling over, as I had only a tiny amount of sleep last night, so I will post this now.