Catherine Hammell:  

!! By the way, I was tripping my face off when I took that final...) Mr. Orlando got me out of a couple of jams with other teachers (for cutting their classes) and for being honest about what talent I did have and that I needed to either "s**t or get off the pot" when it came to dedicating myself to art. I totally identify with the Claire character on "Six Feet Under", dealing with the pretentiousness of the art phag clique as well as not really knowing if one is truly talented or just dabbling. Needless to say, I still dabble (jewelry and stained glass), but no longer attempt to paint (sorry, but I suck at it). So, way to go Ron. Mr. Goldstein was one of the funniest and smartest teachers I have ever had. He rawked hard, he treated me well (unlike the rest of you Benneton clowns who had to actually SWEAT his course, whilst I would wander in after smoking up in the girls' room and had the grammatical goods even when nicely toasted). I ran into him a few years out of high school when I had just started doing direct care for people with developmental disabilities... he was kind of non-plussed as to why I had decided to work with the mentally disabled... but he was glad I was actually using my brain and not sitting behind some desk. He encouraged individuality and creative exploration. Great guy, funny as hell, and I hope he's still alive and kicking, because he kicked major behind. My two high school gurus... Ron Orlando and Robert Goldstein. You RAWK. XOXO