Decemeber,1997—My family and I were on vacation in Holland, riding the ICE train to Germany. My family, being 6 of us, 7 with my Uncle, were a large group, especially with our luggage.  My family filled the compartment and thus, I sat across the aisle at a small table, next to the window, where the chairs were bolted to the floorboards of the train.

A German man sat across from me, in the empty available seat, witha  rucksack in-tow and nothing more than that and a newspaper.  He struck up a conversation, after a bit, and within 3 hours, we exchanged mailing addresses and he disembarked from the train at his stop.

Letters were written, postcards exchanged and an old–fashioned pen-pal friendship blossomed.

We continued to write letters over time–sharing the simple things of life and…thus began something exquisite