1993

First a caveat: If you feel like you're being ignored or neglected or pushed aside, feel as though you've been spat upon by me, your humble note collector, feel as though you have joined the persecuted, the prejudiced against, the attacked, please, please, please, give me another chance! If you've mailed something to me, in the mail or as e-mail, please do it again! I promise I haven't intentionally ignored you and if you think you sent me something and it hasn't shown up in these pages, it's lost on the side of the road somewhere between the capital and my village, and I didn't throw it out on purpose. Or, if you haven't written me a note about yourself or someone you hold dear and near to your heart (or at arm's length as much as possible) please do so now!

And now, on to the news. ers' house. If my wife has any say in the matter, I will soon. In any case, Greg claims it was all great, but neglects to mention who managed to make it the midnight hour to ring in the new year, kids or adults. My money is on the kids. Greg and his wife, Michelle, are imminently expecting a daughter, sometime in June, to join daughters Julie (31/2) and Ellie (2).

Susanne Mooney married John Peter Muller of Trinity College and a New York native, on July 19, 2003 (happy upcoming anniversary!), in Portland, Oregon. The newly weds met when at law school she admired his tort defense and he went gaga over her litigation skills. Fearless president Munir Haddad, Robert Simmelkjaer, Johanna Baum, Adriana Popescu and Tamara Sloan all were present to offer their best wishes.

Greg Hoffmeister sent the progeny update on the folks he runs into with regularity. Joe and Kelli Tosone share Needham with the Hoffmeisters and have a 2-year-old daughter named Gabriella. Over in Newton, Miceal and Shelby Chamberlain share their house with sons Connall, Aidan and Declan. In Westwood Jason Kissell and his wife, Beth, are enjoying time with their 11/2-year- old son, Ryan. Andrew and Deb Faulkner, all the way over in Barrington, Rhode Island, have two daughters, Katherine and Grace. Personally, still being of the childless persuasion, I don't quite see the appeal of their collective crowd (parents and children) on New Year's Eve at the Faulkn-

"Most people move into the 'burbs once their children are bom—we did the opposite," writes Pam Adelstein about her and husband Michael Weissmann's March 2003 move to less suburban Newton, where they "no longer have deer gathering in ouryard." Pam finds tons of time to spend with her daughter, Eliana (now 2 years old), while tackling her part-time job at a com- munity health center in Somerville. She learned Portuguese (for the job, not for Eliana, who is talking up a storm, presumably in English?) and now treats patients using English, Portuguese and Spanish and has an interpreter help her with the five or so other languages her patients favor. Michael continues his work at a law firm in Boston, where he is doing well; "He is extremely busy at work, which beats the alternative." And lastly, but not leastly, Kathleen Vaughan became the co-director for New York City, Nassau and Suffolk counties for the New York State Dispute Resolution Association on January 1. The association is an "organization committed to the use and promotion of peaceful dispute resolution."

Any problems with my writing? Talk to Kathleen. Till next time.

P.O. Box 71, Thaba-Tseka 550, Lesotho, Southerm Africa; chrisonken@hotmail.com