I always fancied myself a bit of a weaver of words and creative
content. But compared to a jolly good friend of mine (and likely
a friend to many of you, too, if you happen to live in Mapleton),
I am a fake.
My friend of 38-plus years, John Ford, who has been happily
working at the Drayton Freshmart forever, is a prolific letter
writer and pen pal to over 85 lucky letter recipients.
John tells me he used to have over 100, but some “went home”
while others weren't quite as dedicated to the letter-writing task
as John still is.
I can barely imagine having one pen pal, let alone 85.
John tells me he's got pen pals in Africa, Australia, New Zealand,
China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan, to name a few.
Some like to practice English as a second language on him, it
seems, but John doesn't mind. It's reciprocal. He gets to learn a
little about the country and the culture from a personal point of
view. And better yet, he gets to have friends all over the world.
When I asked John why he does it and why he keeps writing to
so many, he seemed a little lost for words, except to say that he
enjoys talking to people and finding out all about them. And
for anyone who happens to know John, they likely would agree
that he is a congenial chap who always makes time for a chat.
I'd say there's plenty of truth to that. John is a firecracker of an
HR person at the Drayton Freshmart, even though his official
title is more like “Grocery Attendant.”
I used to have a pen pal when I was a young lass in the UK.
Carrie was her name. She lived in Antwerp, Belgium, and was
the daughter of my mom's pen pal that she had had for over 50
years. Mom and “Auntie Ninnie” had become pen pals during
the war, and it was lovely to read some of the old letters and
find out what was happening on the home fronts.
Carrie and I wrote faithfully back and forth for years. It sure
was nice to get handwritten notes in the post box, but then
years later, Carrie joined a convent and became a nun. I don’t
think I had anything to do with that choice! We lost touch after
that happened, until many years later. We hooked up again
and wrote a few times back and forth, but our pen pal letters
didn’t continue, unlike John and his faithfulness. John doesn’t
have a computer or any sort of technology. He has his hands,
his thoughtfulness and kind words, with pen at the ready and
stamps for the journey.
So, yes, I have to give great kudos to John.
He is a bit of a letter writing hero to me and every time I start
thinking that I am a prolific writer, I think of John, and I smile
and then I lower my own flag a little. RR