A GIFT FROM A UNIQUE RUSSIAN PEN PAL!

I met Tatiana through a pen pal agency over 20 years ago.  I was excited to write to a Russian friend for the first time, and even though I didn’t know any Russian and she had a limited knowledge of English, we had a wonderful connection through the mail for a number of years.  We shared many interests and wrote enthusiastically about our children and family life.  I was thankful that her sons had studied English and helped her with letter writing.  I tried valiantly to learn a little Russian, but it was more difficult than I thought.  As a child growing up in Wisconsin, I had been fascinated that my brother was studying Russian by correspondence course.  When I started writing to Tatiana I found myself wishing that my brother Bob had talked me into taking that correspondence course too; it sure would have made things easier.  But regardless,  I was thrilled whenever one of her letters arrived. 

THE RUSSIAN BOXES THAT TATIANA SENT ME

And then one day something very unusual came through the mail and I couldn’t remotely figure out what it was.  I had never seen a package like that.  It was a large gray cloth bag that was sewn shut and something was rumbling around inside it.  It took me a while to figure out how to get it open, and when I did, I was surprised to find three lovely boxes, all a different size.  It was an incredibly thoughtful gift and I still have those special boxes today, along with numerous pictures of my friend Tatiana.

One of those pictures was taken at Kansas State University, where Tatiana and I were able to meet in person.  She was the director of a folk group that had performed in Europe, but now they were making their first trip to the U.S.  She wrote to ask if I could meet her in Manhattan, Kansas. I couldn’t wait!  My cousin and dear friend knew what the trip meant to me and offered to be part of the drive and adventure.  And what an adventure it was!  It was wonderful to meet Tatiana and her friends in the group and share a meal together with the hosts from Kansas State.  Of course a little sample of vodka was in order too.

I’ve never been very good at saying good-bye and at the end of the time with Tatiana, it was especially hard.  I didn’t know if I would ever see her again, but we had a fantastic visit and continued writing for some time. Eventually we lost touch and I’m sure it was more my fault than hers, as I moved a number of times over the ensuing years.  A friend once sent me an article by a Connecticut writer, Eric Dolin, called MOURNING the LOST ART OF WRITING to a FRIEND.  I miss those letters in my mailbox from Tatiana, but I think of her often and remember fondly our meeting and the day of her Russian surprise.