Monica Yant Kinney: Catch-up time: People who rated a column

And now, for Part Two of my annual year in review, in which I pause to bring readers up to speed and answer questions like, "Whatever happened to that guy who lived in the Starbucks?"

Oh, you mean Dennis Jones?

Jones was the homeless man who spent 12, 14 hours a day at the Starbucks at Broad and Pine Streets, finding comfort in an unlikely urban family. He kept plugging his laptop into an outlet by the front corner window even after revealing his secret, securing mental-health services, and moving into a subsidized apartment.

The 58-year-old Camden native had spent years in the military and worked as an illustrator before losing his way. At Starbucks, he confronted social disorders by making music (Jones plays keyboard) and forcing himself to talk with patrons from all walks of life.

Jones' artwork - he paints pets - drew raves from regulars. Last fall, he landed an art show on the coffee shop's walls.

After my October column, Jones received a half-dozen commissions from readers wanting him to immortalize their pooches. He even sold the portrait of French bulldogs featured in the newspaper.

"I was invited to Arcadia University to tell my story about how art helped me with my disabilities," Jones reports. "And a woman from an animal hospital called about us doing a show."

Linda Ruth Paskell, the professor who had Jones speak to her Artist in the Community class, now counts him as a friend and says his honesty and perseverance "deeply impacted my students."

Beyond his local fame, Jones tells me he's received nibbles about publishing a children's book. He traveled by bus to Seattle in late fall and called me by phone from Arizona recently, where he's spending the month seeing friends and exploring opportunities.

"It's kind of empty, not being at Starbucks, but I have my music and projects," Jones said. "There's energy everywhere you go."

Singer rests her pipes

On another musical note, I'm pleased to share that Katelyn Krapf came thisclose to winning the Avon Voices singing competition.

Krapf, a 19-year-old Downingtown High grad I wrote about in the spring, exemplifies the DIY guide to getting famous: She boasts five websites - try http://www.youtube.com/katelynrose7654 - where people can look and listen to the self-described "nobody."