Helping Hands

What? You go in for surgery or hit the emergency room and you get complimentary (and no doubt overpriced) pajamas from a famous designer?

Well, maybe not. We asked Memorial Hermann spokeswoman Ann Brimberry about it.

Hair Balls: Where do the Betsey Johnson pajamas come from?

Brimberry: Well, that's if you bring your own, if that's what you have. You can wear your own pajamas.

HB: That's it?

Brimberry: Yes. So if you're hip and trendy then you, too, will have your own Betsey Johnson pajamas and you can wear them.

HB: But if you just wear gym shorts and a T-shirt --

Brimberry: That's okay, too. It can be from Wal-Mart, it doesn't matter. Whatever is comfortable for you.

HB: It sounds a little bait-and-switch to me. I thought you go in there, you get some Betsey Johnson PJs.

Brimberry: Oh, I wish. If that were the case, I'd be there.

Brimberry did say, however, that you don't have to bring your own gourmet chef or aromatherapy specialist. Those come free with your visit.

It all sounds like money that could better be spent serving indigent patients, but she insists that's not the case.

"I don't think that has anything to do with it because even if you came in and were non-managed care, you would have the same amenities as a patient," she says.

Just don't expect any designer PJs out of the deal, you indigents. Unless you come with your own.

Year End Report

The holidays are said to increase depression among some folks, and that’s especially true for Houston sports fans. Everywhere you look, the local teams are a disaster (with the exception of the Dynamo, who are national champs, we guess), and 2006 has been harrowing. The trend-lines for the year look pretty damn ugly… Click Here.