dona's 365

Yves, a French Canadian friend from Pittsburgh, seemed very sophisticated to me. He owned an espresso maker in 1983 and could cook pears flambé . He once told me I dressed like a French housewife. Coming from him, that was a compliment. Although he lives nearby, we've lost touch. Pity.

The summer I taught Robert , I taught Jackie, too. Jackie was what was once called a savant. He couldn't add, subtract or comprehend text, but he memorized the telephone book and could tell you the day of the week on which you were born if you gave him your birthday.

Ok, so I never actually met Fred Rogers , he still was an important person in my life . Too old to have been a part of his neighborhood through TV, I ended up living in his real-life neighborhood as an adult. Ok, I lied. We lived in the neighborhood right next door .

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.

Marcia 's parents, Jack and Joan, loom larger than life in my memories. As a child I feared their exuberance, as a teenager, I dreaded their crowded parties, as a young adult we exchanged few words. Now, in my middle age I've grown fond of them and look forward to our meetings.

My mom always said, "If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all." Not quite following her advice about my aunt 's narrow minded husband who hurt my mom with his judgment far more than she could have hurt him by the actions of which he accused her.

One of the most memorable emails I’ve ever received was from Howard Rheingold , granting me access to his virtual community (a term he coined). Since that email, I've met him three or four times. Once I drove him from Fredrick to Arlington via (accidentally) the Pentagon parking lot & Arlington Cemetery.

Short, plump and blonde, Georgianne taught 4th grade at the same Catholic school I taught for a few years in the late 1980's. She had a secret past from her teaching assistant days in the public schools. We spent countless hours after school talking, but she never revealed that one secret.

George and I had adjacent cubicles the first year we worked for Caliber. When I told him he reminded me of someone he said he hoped it was Bill Cosby, his hero. It wasn't though. It was Howard . Was it because both were handsome African American men, married to beautiful women?

I don't really remember my Grandpa Patrick. He died when I was only 3. My dad says he used to hold my bottle at an angle and I'd walk up and drink from it like a calf. He was a farmer all his life. That’s about all I know about him.

On my first day of work, Don, a ColdFusion coder sent me a form and instructed me to "break it". Being new to the IT field, I didn't realize that breaking something in the testing phase could be a good thing. Don’s military background was obvious. He sometimes frightened me.

Tanned, trim and handsome, Bonnie 's husband, Paul has the looks of a TV star. In addition he seems sweet and kind and caring. Bonnie says, "I done right this time." The fact that Paul is her former brother-in-law is just a small footnote. I do wonder how awkward family gatherings are though.

Larry 's daughter, Bonnie, moved to Hawaii 20 years ago where she works as a manicurist and, on the side, grows coffee. She married Paul , her first husband's younger brother. She brought leis to drape over her father's casket, saying, "Dad never made it to Hawaii so I brought Hawaii to him."

Steve, Larry 's middle son, works for a company that owns and imports alcohol -- the good stuff: Smirnoff, Tanqueray, Guinness -- to the United States. Don't ask him how it tastes, though. He doesn't drink. He's the proud father of two children he never sees and two adopted children by a better marriage.

Larry 's youngest son Phil's quietness seems almost deafening compared to his three siblings' constant chatter. It's perfectly understandable though -- he probably gave up trying to get a word in long ago. He now has 7 children, so his world continues to be filled with talk while he sits back and listens.

Don't ask Larry 's eldest son Mike about listening to God unless you want to hear the entire story of the past seven or so years of his life: rebirth, salvation, speaking in tongues and all. Mom says he used to be a "wild boy". Maybe he was. Now he's kind of annoying.

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.