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Permalink Reply by Orbit on March 12, 2008 at 12:41pm

Something interesting about me.... I live in an old church that I have converted to living and studio space.

Permalink Reply by iAMrj on March 12, 2008 at 2:41pm

That's interesting, indeed. Got any before and after photos that you can share? :-)

Permalink Reply by BrandyLynn on March 12, 2008 at 3:01pm

How incredibly neat!! I love houses such as those. My hubby helped a friends son convert an old school house into a home and it turned out neat. I have yet to get in there and look around though. I think that's awesome...preserving history a bit instead of tearing it down. Kudos to you!!!
Would love to see some shots too if you have them.

Permalink Reply by Dotty on March 17, 2008 at 12:32am

Hello friends,
I have an interesting story. I was looking through one of those "Teen Beat" magazines about 32 years ago (yep I'm that old!!!), and in the back of the book was a page that had names and addresses of girls and boys from other countries that would like an American penpal. I was 13 at the time, and I spotted a girl named Lilly from New Zealand who was 12. I wrote her a letter telling her all about myself, and she wrote back to me. We continued writing for the next 15 years (yes, really!!!). Then we lost touch because I moved so many times, but I thought about her all the time. About 7 years passed, and one day out of the blue, I got a phone call from a man in Ohio who asked me if I was the Dotty that had a penpal Lilly from New Zealand. I was so stunned that I don't think I answered him for a few minutes. After I composed myself and got over the shock, I told him that I was that Dotty and I think we talked for an hour. He had met Lilly through an online chatroom and he said that all she kept talking about was her American friend Dotty and asked him if he could try to find me. He obviously did!!! He gave me Lilly's email address and I wrote her an email as soon as I hung up the phone with him. We got back in touch and filled eachother in on the happenings of our lives.....Marriages, divorces, children, etc. So we kept in touch all the time now, and we even got married within a couple of months of eachother. In fact, I wrote my own vows, and when she heard them, she cried and she asked if she could use them too!!! Of course I said yes. I was going to try to get to New Zealand for her wedding but I wasn't able to. So, instead, my husband and I delayed our honeymoon to save for a trip to New Zealand. We got married in August 2005, and went to New Zealand in February 2006. Lilly and her Maori friends gave us a traditional Maori welcome with a song and dance in full dress. It was the best time of my life. I also got to meet 5 of my Kiwi Alopecian friends that I met through online support groups and their families. If I remember correctly, there were about 18 of us altogether and we all met at a restaurant. They all got to see me meet Lilly for the first time too!!! Lilly and I were interviewed and featured in the local paper there too!! New Zealand is a beautiful country and I hope to go back again someday. My husband and I loved it so much, we are thinking about moving there!! In the meantime, I have my memories and lots and lots of pictures to remember meeting my best friend in the whole wide world after 30 years!!! Now isn't that much better than Alopecia??

Permalink Reply by BrandyLynn on March 18, 2008 at 6:37pm

I remember those penpal's at the end of the magazine!! It was 32 years ago??? Oh, you reminded me of how old I am.
How EXCITING for you to meet your penpal after all that time!! It must have been a great experience for you and your husband.

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