That heartwrenching letter was the first in a long series that spanned 13 years. JJ slowly became adjusted to her new environment, new school, and new friends. We wrote letters back and forth constantly, either sending or receiving one each week over the next two years. Then the frequency dropped to one letter each exchanged per month for the next 3 or 4 years. We exchanged friendship bracelets, school pictures, and stories by the dozen. Stories of school and family, first crushes, first dates...all the things two now teenaged best friends should tell each other in confidence. We formed our own club (several times). Then we added a third person to our intimate circle. "Joy" was JJ's best friend in Texas whom I got to know through letters and pictures (and by this time, online chatting had developed as well). One summer JJ came back to visit with family here for a week, and JJ's oldest brother (who was married with a little boy) took us to the movies to see Batman Forever. It was the only time in our 13 years of correspondence that we actually got to see each other in person. Eventually the letters that had begun weekly, then monthly drifted farther and farther apart. I would receive a letter every 4-6 months. Then just on special occasions, like my birthday or Christmas. Finally...the letters stopped coming completely. Two years passed with no word from JJ, and since she and her family were known for frequent moves, I had no idea how to contact her. By this time I was a sophomore in college, and quite familiar with the "world wide web" so I decided to go online and try to find her through the People Finder white pages...then something wonderful happened that changed my life forever!
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