dona's 365

When blond, beautiful Julia came to visit the US from England she liked it so much she overstayed her visa. We became roommates and ceased to be friends. I blamed her consistent reluctance to clean up after herself; she blamed my insistence that she pay her part of the rent.

My crush on Jeff began in 6th grade and continued into college. He always seemed more comfortable with girls than boys. He dated Betsy and fell in love with Vilma . I could never get him to notice me. The last time I saw him he'd been arrested for shoplifting at Zayre.

If Dustin Hoffman and Paul McCartney had a child together it might have resembled Rob. In the 80’s Rob was Dean’s hip, young statistics professor. Rob’s dad (neither of the above) discovered the cause of tampon-related toxic shock syndrome. Rob’s pediatrician was T Berry Brazelton . I think that’s kinda cool.

Breece’s mom, Donnamae, joked that her whole family was ADD, but her huge heart of gold made up for any deficits in her attention. My kids always seemed to end up hanging out at her house – maybe the four cats, one bird and friendly, yet hyperactive, beagle were the lures.

Though Todd lives not far from us, I have not seen him since his wedding at least 15 years ago. We used to be very close when he and my husband were in grad school together. We’ll see him tomorrow though, at his wife’s funeral. Where doe s the time go?

The person and longtime friend who got me to join the book group, Debra regularly suggests a classic, but like mine, her suggestions are largely ignored. Some members of the group think that by sometimes choosing a book set in Ireland, Debra’s desire for a James Joyce will be satisfied.

We met Swedish national, Jens, and his Austrian girlfriend in Holland while staying on an Irish run botel in Amsterdam. The four of us got along very well, despite the difficulties in communication — Jens translating his girlfriend’s German for us. They said we didn’t act like Americans — a true compliment.

A Georgetown professor and Arieh 's wife, Sandy, was born and raised in NYC, but reluctantly moved with Arieh and their daughter to Arieh’s native country, Chile, when Arieh felt the need to go back home. After 9-11 her reluctance changed to relief, believing herself safer in Chile than in Bethesda.

The first time I met Arieh, was at a bonfire night at CMU . We went to the bonfire, walked with actors from Hill Street Blues saw Moscow on the Hudson then went to his tiny apartment for tea. Since he’s a dead ringer for Robin Williams it was pretty surreal.

Sr. Barbara was one of the first nuns I got to know well. We carpooled to school together my first year as a teacher. She shared an apartment with Sr. Margaret , the first grade teacher. Sr. Barbara was the principal and because we were friends some other teachers distrusted me.

When I first joined my film club, I was awed by Stan’s knowledge of the language of film. I still am, but Stan has other awesome qualities. About to retire from the government and studying to become a rabbi, his kind, soft-spoken, nature will serve him well in that capacity.

One of my fellow student teachers in London, Bill’s chatter kept me in stitches most of the time. My favorite bit: “I knew not to expect the comforts of home, but I was surprised to not have heat in my room.” We both loved the Blockheads’ January 1979 hit single .

I met Michael my first year in Pittsburgh. I’d walk to Mellon Park and spend afternoons reading and writing among the ruins. He’d always be there, exercising his golden retrievers. We’d spend hours talking about our lives. To this day I still think of him as The Mayor of Mellon Park.

Frances took me under her wing when I first moved to the DC area. I couldn’t have asked for a better guide or friend She’d been a reporter for the Evening Star where she’d interviewed first ladies from Eleanor Roosevelt through Betty Ford. She taught me the meaning of integrity.

George, Tim ’s friend from Columbia, Maryland , must have often worn clothes that matched because I called him color-coordinated. He replied: everyone who lived in that planned community was color-coordinated – it was a rule. I now live about thirty minutes from Columbia and, still think of it as Color Coordinated Columbia.

Diane and I worked together for a couple of years. She’d moved around a lot – her husband worked for the VOA . For a while she and I tried, unsuccessfully, to tame Don . Then Don was fired, I chose to telecommute and Diane moved to Manila. Were we really even there?

When Betsy showed up at our junior high lunch table wearing a wig, I remarked loudly - unkindly, that her real hair looked better. The following year the newspaper ran a 2-page story about a local teenager living with Leukemia. Unkind remarks about Betsy’s wig figured prominently in the article.

Mom and Dad ’s current neighbor, Ron, is a nice fellow. I taught him to text message. He now texts me to update me his life, my folks, his love life, his kids, his politics, his opinions, his ex-wife, his job... It’s like an RSS feed of his stream of consciousness.

When our principal, Sister Joan, announced she was leaving the school and the convent because she’d recently recovered memories of abuse from her childhood, the staff was split in two. Either you allied yourself with Joan or the pastor . I chose Joan. What was once a sanctuary became a battlefield.

Librarian by profession and by nature, Jeremy ’s father, Jack, took me on literary tours of England including the Brontë Parsonage and Watership Down . The best by far was C. S. Lewis country where we stood outside the Kilns then traveled to Holy Trinity Church where Lewis worshiped and is buried .