monday afternoon my mom emailed me saying whatever i had said to jim, thank you. he had gone by our parents' house and picked up his car which has been sitting in their driveway for a few years and had it towed to his place where he plans to restore it. she said he was sounding hopeful for the first time in a long time, and it sounded like he was really planning on making some positive changes in his life.

he called me back last night to thank me. talking to me had apparently really lit a fire under his ass and in addition to starting to work on his car, he's already started learning guitar and harmonica which he's been meaning to do for years. he's actually looking forward to spending time with dad, to learn some things about guitar. he's already looking forward to life more than he has in a long time.

i'm excited for him and really hope that things start to look up.

also, joey was right: there's no such thing as a truly selfless act. even when you're really doing something for someone else, you get something out of it, even if it's just that warm fuzzy feeling of knowing you did something for someone else.