My Favorite Pen-Pal

November 1972

(1995) I'm about 12 years old. I'm running down the driveway, wondering always if there is anything tucked in the mailbox for me. I think I have established about 4 or 5 pen-pals to correspond with. But there is one specific pen-pal that I am most eager to hear from: my grandfather. I enjoy his letters the most because he has this silly sense of humor and he's full of sarcasm. And I know that when a letter is coming from him, there is not always just a piece of paper with writing on it, but often there is also something special. Something different each time. So far, I've recieved a silly old note attatched to a $2 bill indicating that as long as I hang onto that bill, I will never be poor and neither will my family (oh, and if I do spend it, I will be CURSED with the old family curse!). I laughed. I've also recieved a lot of cool postcards from all of the different places that he's been visiting. I can't wait to hear about his next adventure!

I open the mailbox and carefully pull out all the mail. Bills for mom and dad, more bills, some "junk" mail, some coupons, and . . . and . . . a LETTER FOR ME from my favorite pen-pal!

I run back into the house and throw all of that other mail onto the counter for my mom and dad. I plop myself down onto the couch and rip open my letter at the seams. And then I am careful . . . this is the best part, the anticipation of what I am about to read. As I pull down the first fold, something thin and delicate falls onto my lap. It's face-down. I pick it up carefully, holding its edges. And I turn it over only to find my favorite pen-pal looking down on me. WoW! This picture is amazing. It is so special to me, I know, even just after this first glance. I wasn't even alive in 1972! But I'm thinking, this might very well be the best picture I will ever have of my grandfather! So before I even read the letter, I run to my bedroom to place this precious photo in the safest place I know: my sticker album.

(2006) I am 22. I recently went back to my parent's house to dig up some of my old poems and keepsakes. I find pages and pages of notes, letters, and memorable little trinkets. And as I peer into my old closet, I spot it! It was my most prized possession from when I was about 11 and 12. It's this 11x14 grey picture album, unmarked. I slowly remove it from its place in the debris that is my stuff. I roam through the pages and pages of stickers, reminiscing about when I got which sticker. I decide that this is something I would like to have in my possession again. I take it home.

I'm tired. A few days have gone by. But I am curious again, so I go and find that grey photo album I brought back from my parent's house. I flip through EVERY page this time. And the end was like a cherry on an ice cream sundae, just so sweet. This picture has had a whole page dedicated to it for all these years. I'm so happy to have found this picture again! It has made my day. I think I'll go and write a story about it . . .

I love you, Grandpa.

You'll always be my favorite pen-pal!