By Jane K. Fox National Card and Letter Writing Month may be a good chance to pick up a pen and practice your penmanship, but it is also a chance to celebrate those who lead by example. Barabra Pickering, Lopez resident, has had a pen pal for nearly 60 years. “Back in the day, pen pals were the thing,” she says, explaing how at eight years old her grade school teacher matched the american students with children from England. “A lot of my friends had pen pals but lost them, however we’ve just kept in touch over the years.”

That is a lot of years, corresponding since childhood meant that the two women wrote to each other through the defining moments of their lives. Letters were exchanged through marriages, deaths of parents, and the births of children (both women have one girl and one boy).

Pickering’s pal comes from Kettering, England and although they exchanged photos over the years, they did not meet until five years ago on a trip to London. The long delay in their meeting, however, had no effect on their ability to get on, “we had bonded through letters,” says Pickering, “it was like we knew each other already, it was a dream come true to meet her.”

Since that first meeting, Pickering’s pen pal has traveled to Lopez three times, and plans to again this summer. Since Pickering has kept everything from their 60 years of correspondence, she thinks it will be fun to go over them all, with her friend, and revisit their lives through letters.