dona's 365

P7040014 Originally uploaded by donapatrick . Occasionally curmudgeonly, Bob is the patriarch of the neighborhood. He’s a card-carrying “tree-hugger”, master gardener, environmental activist, and dog lover. His yard holds only native plants, and not a speck of grass. Oh, and he’s the lead in our neighborhood parades. We can all learn a lot from this octogenarian.

Dean in his element Originally uploaded by donapatrick . The night I met Dean at the biker bar in Elgin, I knew we would marry. It took a few years, but we did get married. I had to get something out of my system first and he was there when I was ready and has been there ever since.

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.

Bonnie ’s older sister, Diana, married George, divorced him, then re-married him. Why? Who knows? Not long ago we spoke on the telephone and she told me about her inability to digest gluten, thinking it would help me in some way. I think my mother told her I once had diarrhea.

I remember very little about Darwin, except that he wore cowboy shirts and a perpetual sneer. Recently I saw him in old family home movie footage, but it told me nothing. He was Bonnie ’s older brother and agreed with his dad in most things. For example: “reading was for losers”.

The first few years I knew Laura, she spoke maybe 10 words to me. Now she’s comfortable enough to expel entire paragraphs at a time including shrieks, whines and curse words. She’s spending part of the summer in Scotland, the homeland of her parents. She’s one of Clare’s better friends.

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.

The Two Pats Originally uploaded by donapatrick . Jeremy’s mother, Pat, was levelheaded, gave sensible advice and shook her head at silliness. I didn’t think I knew her as well as I knew Jack, but after he died, I realized it was she who wrote me the letters. All those years I thought it was Jack writing me.

Third-grade classmate, Jean, announced to passersby that she was a Martian. It added to her reputation for being weird. She was my secret Santa that year. I don't remember what I gave her, but she gave me a small blue candle shaped like a church. Maybe she was a Martian.

During a difficult IEP meeting for Penny, an emotionally disturbed teenager, Penny’s mother turned to Jeanne, my immediate supervisor at Pace School in Pittsburgh, and said, “You wear too much makeup.” Jeanne simply replied, “Thank you for your comments, but it is not my IEP.” The mother behaved after that.

Still handsome and active at 75 or so, Sue ’s husband Lou climbs ladders to clear his gutters in windstorms and to make sure the roofers are doing their job. He’s a regular golfer and gives well thought-out advice about nearly everything -- but only when asked. Even teenagers find him fascinating.

Barry’s a runner, and a stay-at-home dad, although a veterinarian by trade. Robin works from home full time as a sales rep. Theo, their adorable 2 year-old, is madly in love with Clare. The three of them moved in almost a year ago – we couldn’t ask for better next-door neighbors.

First Eileen moved in next-door, then Paul, then they got married. Eleven years later Paul decided he wanted to find himself. Now he lives on a houseboat and Eileen has moved to North Carolina. It sucks because we really liked them. Before she left, however, Eileen found us good replacements .

Michael, who we’ve known for years, has always seemed even-tempered and levelheaded. Imagine my surprise when he was the loudest in a shouting match last night at the meeting between the neighborhood and hospital. Not that the hospital administrator didn’t deserve to feel pain; it wasn’t a well thought-out action.

Mrs. O'Brien proudly sports a Bush/Cheney decal on her bumper. It stands out on a street of mostly liberals. Even after 15½ years on the same street, she still asks me who I am every time we meet, then apologizes for not buying Girl Scout cookies from Clare in 1999.

Undoubtedly the best educator I’ve ever known, Mr. DeLuca did more than teach. He used every possible opportunity as a teachable moment He was kind, firm and fun and seemed comfortable around parents and children alike. Most of all he liked the kids. Both kids were lucky to have him.

No-nonsense and absolutely not touchy-feely, Ms Mitchnik, was the first teacher that was not influenced by Andrew ’s charms. She had high expectations for her fifth graders. Andrew was not happy, but rose to the occasion by working hard his final year in elementary school. Well done, Ms M.

Fourth-grade teacher and cheerful fellow, Mr. Delpierre was the opposite of Ms Scher when it came to relating with adults. His unusual sense of humor sometimes scared students, but Clare found him warm and kind. After he married a student’s au pair they were featured on a House Hunters episode.

Inconsistent, sarcastic and volatile, Ms Stein — nicknamed Frankenstein by her students — needed to have a career far from young children. Unfortunately for many, including Clare , she chose to teach second grade. Among the few adults she allowed into her classroom, I attempted to model kindness to the woman.

My memory of Ms Stottman, Andrew ’s 3rd grade teacher is rather sketchy at best — I went back to work that year. I know Andrew loved her and she loved Andrew. That was also the last year I remember Andrew enjoying school — after that school became an unpleasant chore for him.