Lost letters

I am reminded once again how much kindness matters.

Today I was given a bag full of memorabilia of my birthfather, pictures, newspaper clippings (about his boomerang skills at NC State, for one!), the telegram telling his parents that he had been killed in action in Vietnam, his driver's license, his pipes, and scads of other things that I'm still going through. It is a treasure-trove of blessings for me, and I look forward to spending time with them this weekend.

Among the letters was one written in June of 1967, just after his passing. It was written by a Catholic priest who knew my birthfather and flew with him in his OH-23 helicopter. The letter was written to my birthfather's parents as a letter of condolence.

I'm sure that this priest wrote countless letters such as this, but this is the one I have possession of, and when I read it, I wept. 42 years since his death, this man's words speak to me.

Fortunately, this man is still living, in his early 80s, and I was able to find him online and have written to him. I hope I'll hear back.

In this age of electronic communication, let us never forget the value of the written word. Words on paper have a power that bits and bytes in cyberspace do not.