python Backend message type 0x44 arrived while idle

I'm having trouble selecting "long" rows out of a database
of email messages using python. I'm working on an IMAP server
in python using Postgres as a backend datastore. All the
code can be seen with a little poking around at
http://zipcode.sourceforge.net but basically I'm just
executing a query and it is blowing up.

Is this due to the greater-then 8k fields that I'm using
to store messages?

pg.version == 3.1

select version() yields:
PostgreSQL 7.1 on sparc-sun-solaris2.8, compiled by GCC 2.95.3

##
SELECT * FROM messages WHERE folder_pkey ='12' ORDER BY pkey
##
Backend message type 0x44 arrived while idle
Exception in thread Thread-2:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.1/threading.py", line 378, in __bootstrap
self.run()
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.1/threading.py", line 366, in run
apply(self.__target, self.__args, self.__kwargs)
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.1/SocketServer.py", line 253, in finish_request
self.RequestHandlerClass(request, client_address, self)
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.1/SocketServer.py", line 501, in __init__
self.handle()
File "./zipcode.py", line 197, in handle
messages = self.selected_folder.fetch_by_uids(begin, end)
File "./datastore.py", line 18, in fetch_by_uids
res = self.db.query(q)
_pg.error: pqReadData() -- read() failed: errno=2
No such file or directory
##

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Adam Haberlach | Computer science has the unfortunate characteristic
adam(at)newsnipple(dot)com| that many of the pioneers of the field are still
| alive and doing research.
| -- Adam Rifkin