Here is a letter I wrote (and obviously never sent) to my poor pen pal in Soviet occupied Lithuania at the age of eight.
“Dear Rita,
I bet you love picking amber by the shores of the Baltic Sea, but also sad because you are not allowed to pray or attend Holy Mass. I have a Lithuanian national costume and am getting ready for February 16th. I go to Lithuanian (school) and have not forgotten how to speak Lithuanian yet. When I come home from school I usually wash my hands and have a snack. Then I go watch some TV. My favorite game is “Barbie Dolls.” You see, they are little dolls that have very-”
And I just left it at that. Now that I’m re-reading it, I’m glad I never sent it out. There are a lot of things wrong with this letter, like the fact that I’m talking about celebrating Lithuania’s Independence Day in my national costume when it’s a fact that Rita herself cannot (maybe I meant to re-assure her that we Lithuanians in America were still holding up the fort). Or that I’m compelled to mention I haven’t forgotten how to speak Lithuanian yet – I’m willing to bet Rita wasn’t losing any sleep over that. And the Barbies. What was I trying to do, send her into a jealous rage?
We used to always have to write letters to the Poor Children of Lithuania Who Could Not Attend Holy Mass, even though we secretly thought they were pretty darn lucky on that count. It was hard not to sound all gloaty, like we had it all (TV, afternoon snacks, Barbies, soap) when we were always being told that the Children of Lithuania had to do without.
When I wrote this letter, I didn’t honestly believe that Rita (whoever she is) would ever live in a free Lithuania. I hope she’s having a lovely life.
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I love reading your letter for your pen pal Rita. I hope you and your pen pal Rita will meet in the near future.
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Super interesting post. I hope she is having a lovely life!
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Wow, so interesting! I love this!
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You never know she just might be playing Barbies with her daughter right now!
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“We used to always have to write letters to the Poor Children of Lithuania Who Could Not Attend Holy Mass, even though we secretly thought they were pretty darn lucky on that count.”
Love this sentence.
Such a fascinating (and entertaining) little bit of history.
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I love this. It is both hilarious and touching all in one.
Kat´s last [type] ..Learning
Sniff. Everything’s here — poignancy and humor. The fact that you left the letter hanging just cracks me up.
It is really nice that you and Rita will meet soon and will have some quality time. I am looking forward for this post of yours.
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You really such as a good friend spending time to write a letter for Rita even though you don’t know her personally.
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Wherever Rita now, for sure when she will read your letter she will definitely want to know you more because I feel that you have a nice personality that everyone wants to have as a friend.
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