Parse Error?

I’ve just installed WP, and it’s working, hitting the DB OK and everything, but I keep getting these perplexing parse errors on various pages. Here’s one example:
on
wp-admin/options-general.php
when i submit the form, I get:
Parse error: parse error, unexpected $ in /home/bullrush/public_html/wordpress/wp-admin/optionhandler.php on line 108
nothing looks amiss on line 108 or anywhere near it, to my not-very-php-capable eye.
I’ve tried re-downloading WP, deleting the offending files, and reuploading them.
No dice.
any ideas?
thanks!
GD