Due to new discoveries in technology, writing letters has become less popular among today’s youth than years ago. In today’s society we like to have things easily accessible to us. Computers and cell phones enable us to communicate and connect quickly with our family, friends and co-workers. Perhaps this new technology has a disadvantage. As the sincerity and civilized form of writing letters dwindles, the way we handle our relationships and interact with people may be suffering as we take for granted the new technology that is available to us.
Although the way we communicate in the world today is primarily through phones, fax and the Internet, there are still those who prefer to communicate the old-fashioned way. One of those people is my mother, Mary Plado. Letter writing is quite special because it is personal and tactile. Writing letters has truly been a way of bringing people together in my mother’s case.
Every summer my family and I travel to new and exciting places. In the summer of 2009, my brother John suggested traveling to London. My mother and I agreed this sounded like a great opportunity to travel abroad and experience life in a new culture. Traveling to London made my mother realize this was a chance in a life time for her to meet her pen pal of 40 years for the very first time, and she could hardly wait.
As a child, my mother attended a Catholic grammar school, Saint Agnes, in Utica, New York. In 5th grade her teacher at the time, Sister Robert Daniel, announced to the class they would have the opportunity to acquire a pen pal for one dollar. My mother always enjoyed writing. (She is now an 8th grade English teacher at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Utica, New York.) She thought it would be interesting to make a long distance friend through letter writing and took the offer. Later in the school year, my mother received all the information on her new pen pal. She was given Denise Poland, an 11 year old who lived in Wales. Shortly thereafter the two began corresponding.
The contents of the initial letters were primarily factual information about one another’s lives and families. Content included typical topics that young girls would talk about. The difference was it wasn’t spoken, but written. Both girls instantly became friends as if it were truly meant to be. “It was exciting waiting for the mail to arrive knowing that I had sent a letter out to Denise. Many of my class mates did not keep up with their pen pals for more than a short period of time.” says my mother.
Over the years everyday happenings were shared with one another ranging from deaths and illnesses to marriages, children, jobs and education. The two exchanged gifts at special occasions such as Christmas and birthdays. When Denise married Mike Harris she sent my mother a piece of wedding cake in a special little box. Surprisingly, since the cake was fruit cake my mother still has the cake in its original box!
Prior to our trip to Europe, my mother sent Denise a letter informing her we would be visiting London in case Denise and Mike would be able to make the long drive from Wales to meet us. “I was very excited to not only meet Denise for the first time but to actually hear her voice since we had always corresponded with letters. We had never spoke to one another over the phone.”
Denise stated in her e-mail that she and Mike would certainly meet with us, and a date was set for the meeting. The day the meeting was to take place my mother, brother and I were waiting in the lobby of our hotel. The time for the meeting came and went and no Denise. “I was worried that maybe something had happened to her because I knew she was excited to meet me.”
Many people came and went finally a man and a woman walked through the door to the lobby with their backs to us. My mother stood up and said “That’s her!” Denise instantly turned around, looked at my mother, and smiled. They hugged, and everyone was introduced to one another. “The day of the meeting, I tried to envision what Denise looked like and what her voice sounded like. After seeing her it was surreal.” says my brother John.
My mother brought a cherry serving tray with a glass surface and a lovely red silk fabric underneath for Denise to make up for a teapot that was sent to her years ago that arrived broken. Denise’s husband Mike commented that the tray would perfectly match their living room. This was proof that although many miles apart these two women are very similar. “I had mixed feelings prior to meeting Mary. Excitement because we were finally going to meet, but also a sense that I already ‘knew’ her, so it was like meeting an old friend. Upon meeting her I was absolutely bursting with emotion! I had a feeling that it wasn’t really happening, but also that it was perfectly natural.” says Denise.
We only had the afternoon to spend together; so we decided to treat Denise and Mike to lunch at Zizi’s, an Italian restaurant a short distance from our hotel. As my mother and Denise talked about various things during lunch my brother and I noticed how easily the two women fell into conversation as if meeting over lunch was a common occurrence. Denise had to convince my mother to order wine with lunch stating “Come on Mary it’s a special occasion!” “I was particularly happy that Mary loved red wine just like me!” says Denise.
As we walked back to our hotel my mother and Denise continued to reminisce. The afternoon had flown by, and it was time for good-byes. “Meeting Denise in person was something I never thought would ever happen. It was certainly one of the best things that ever happened to me. That one afternoon made those 40 years of waiting so worth it.” says my mother. She will carry the memory of that afternoon with Denise forever.
