Pen-pal friendship extends outward

The Aug. 24 issue of the Sentinel contained a story, "For These Pals, a Pen Is a Mighty Matchmaker," about a New Jersey woman Diana Van Hise, who has been a pen pal with a Czech woman, Jarka Bla'hova, for four decades.

There's an interesting sidebar to this story. One of my distant cousins, who lives in New Jersey, has Diana as a customer. In 2002 Diana asked my cousin, Suzanne Hye, who was traveling to the Czech Republic, to carry a gift to Jarka. While she was there, Suzanne mentioned that I collect bottle caps, and Jarka nicely rounded up a few for Suzanne to bring home to me. That was a nice act.

But imagine my astonishment today when I received, compliments of Diana, hundreds of bottle caps that Jarka had continued to collect for me, someone she did not know, since that visit in 2002. Jarka had visited New Jersey in August, about the time you published your story, and she brought them with her just for me. I now have about 100 new bottle caps for my collection, but I also have a greater appreciation for Jarka and Diana.

So the friendship that began in 1964 extends outward in an unusual way, proving that human beings are sometimes thoughtful and generous even to complete strangers.

Donn Neal

Pittsburgh