In the last couple of years our neighbor Sue has lost her husband, her eyesight and her esophagus. That would be enough to make most people say "uncle". But Sue isn't most people

When she and her husband moved to our neighborhood a little over a decade ago, she found a way to meet everyone in our 75-home enclave. She had formerly held local office in another state so knocking on doors came naturally. She organized us into a spreadsheet that, with the help of a techno-savvy neighbor, became a list-serve before neighborhood list-serves were the thing. Through it, we share solutions for everything from how to get rid of bats in the attic to how to find house sitters. Sue also organized us to get the city to repave our street. And she is always the one brings nametags to our twice-yearly block parties.

We visited Sue the other day, six weeks after her cancerous esophagus had been removed. She's doing "great," a relief to all of her neighbors. There was a large hand-made cardboard sign on the window seat in her living room. It said, "Welcome Home Wonder Woman."

Sue may have endured many losses, but she has not lost her spirit. At "almost eighty," she is an inspiration to us all.