On going home to visit a dying mother

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Because I respect and value my relationship with many Enquirer readers, and the honest communication I have with so many of you, I want to tell you that I will be out of circulation for a couple of days.

I learned shortly after the first preseason game against the Redskins that my mother, Elizabeth Curnutte, was diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to her brain, where a scan revealed four tumors. With the Bengals off-limits to media today, I am headed home to Dixon, Ill., to visit Mom for a couple of days.

I'll be back at work in Cincinnati on Saturday.

Mom turned 77 on Aug. 16 -- I'll never forget her birthday because Elvis Presley died on her 48th birthday -- and she has begun radiation treatments and is feeling better. The cancer is pretty well advanced, but she is strong physically, emotional and spiritually.

She was the rock when Dad died in 2003, and just shy of her 73rd birthday, she earned her first driver's license. She sold the big family house and moved into a nice ranch on the edge of town. I'll be there in about two and a half hours. I stopped for lunch at a Panera to finish an off-day story for the Thursday Enquirer.

We all read and delighted in the stories about life-long Red Sox fans holding on to see their team win the 2004 World Series.

Well, Mom, born in 1929 in Peru, Ill., had never seen her beloved White Sox win much of anything until last year. We've been grousing with each other all summer about the under-achieving pitching. Man, she loves manager Ozzie Guillen. She's 100 percent of German ancestory, and she appreciates his straight-talking way.

One quick anecdote before I get back in the car, where Springsteen, the Jayhawks and Lucinda Williams CDs and a couple of cups of coffee have kept me good company.

When the Bengals played in Chicago last September against the Bears, I flew in early Saturday to O'Hare and rented a car for the 90-minute drive west to Dixon. Mom and I had a great afternoon and evening. We went to Mass, had the traditional Curnutte Saturday-night supper of home-made hamburgers, fries and garden tomatoes and watched the White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins on WGN-TV. We had breakfast the next morning, and I drove into Soldier Field to cover the Bengals game.

I can't complain. I've never had anything but the best relationship with both of my parents. I know a lot of people who lost parents when they were children or had fractured relationships with one or both of them. The best thing that ever happened to me, next to being blessed with my own children, was being born to John and Elizabeth Curnutte.

I've been able to enjoy our evolving relationship, from mother teaching a son to becoming friends as adults.

She continues to set a great example for her children. Just as she didn't stop living when Dad died, she is looking forward. She is basking in her seven children and wonderful relationships with many of her sons- and daughters-in-law. She already has told us that she is grateful for the full, rich life she has lived and the 52 years of marriage she shared with Dad.

Talk to you guys soon. I just wanted to let you know why I wouldn't have anything in the paper and why the blog wouldn't be updated for a few days.