The Joe skinny

Many of you have asked for an update on Joe: Next week the docs will decide whether to remove the drainage tube that's propping open his biliary duct, and we hope very much that they'll do so. Once they do, if the stars align, the duct will stay open and Joe's current upswing will continue. Then he might be able to return to work in a few weeks, at last, eight months after the transplant surgery.

High expectations run in my family, so we'll be disappointed with anything less than an excellent outcome. Plus Joe is dying to get back to work, despite being comfy in his cozy new digs in Wrigleyville.

Speaking of high expectations, Joe reports that Homer's The Iliad didn't meet his. He's going to give The Odyssey a try nonetheless...