After first making a full (and verified) backup, in case this updater ain't up to snuff, I installed the updater.
A quick run of DiskWarrior 4.0 indicated the directory was still intact.
Even though I Repaired Permissions (before and after) and Safe Booted, Meteorologist refused to load. I then shut down (cold) and restarted (again), and now, all remains right with the world---I think.
That was on a 2' Intel iMac (10.4.
. How it works on a PPC, well, that is my task for tomorrow.