Today would have been my neighbor Angelo's 84th birthday. Angelo was the kind of man you wanted for a neighbor. We shared a lot of good times, good laughs, and I still consider him one of my best friends. This time of year especially brings back the memories because Angelo and I celebrated Halloween every year - each trying to trick the other, each getting into outlandish outfits or situations to do so.

There would be a loud knock at the door, and there would be Angelo, dressed in women's clothes, or dressed like a bum. He always disguised his face with a veil, or a hat drawn way down, so I never was quite sure if it was him at first. One time he came in dressed in heavy clothes, disguishing his body, and wearing big old fashioned galoshes. He never talked, didn't want to give away his identify with his easily recognizable voice. So, he handed me a note. On it was written, "AFRAID OF AIDS, WEAR RUBBERS". Now, I got a little worried, what if it wasn't Angelo but some demented Halloween killer I had just let into the house? He went right into the living room which was lit only with a candle near the bowl full of candy and started to empty all the candy in his bag. But he didn't know that we had an extra prop in the room. From behind the curtains came Timmy's loud and stern voice "TAKE JUST ONE" and Angelo fell back into a chair, holding his heart. We all had a good laugh at that.

Once I dressed up like a pirate, full pirate mask on my face. I had Timmy drive me down the street, so Angelo wouldn't see me cross Clay Hill to his house. He didn't recognize me, I think he had been looking out of his window to see when I would leave the house, so the entrance from down the road confused him ...and I got him good.

My kids all loved Angelo. Laura would picture her ideal parents as being my sister Maureen for her mother and Angelo for her father. When Maria lived in the Bird's Nest she and Angelo would meet at the mail boxes, right after the mail delivery. They kidded each other about how important their job was, getting the mail. Paul spent time with Angelo in the back shed, looking at his collections. Angelo collected hub caps, which he sold to people seeing his sign on 9G. One time a nun bought a hub cap from him and he put it on her car. I always wished I had a picture of that nun in her full habit and Angelo on his knees, putting on the hub cap. One time our guests in the Bird's Nest said to me, "We saw the most wonderful thing today." I thought they meant a bird, or deer in the yard, but they had wandered across the street and Angelo had given them a tour of his hub cap collection. They were from England and thought this was grand.

Angelo was a little hard of hearing, so often instead of yelling to each other across the street, we would pantomine a discussion. I would look up at the sky, raise my hands , like what is it going to do today? And Angelo, would pretend to put up an umbrella, or break into a big smile, arms out like he was sunbathing.

Oh, we had good times, right up to the end. I would go stay with him from seven in the morning until his nurse arrived around eight. We were alone for that time, and he could be open with me about his illness, which he always tried to keep from his children. One morning he looked at me and just said simply, "I'm going to miss you." For a moment, I was thrown. It sounded like I was the one going away, and then I understood what he meant. "'l'll miss you too, Angelo," I answered, and then we went on to another subject. And I do, especially at Halloween.