Pen Pals Meet For The First Time In Person After Half A Century

Rita Stoker Click has had a penpal since 1971. She lives in Colorado, but her friend, Teresa Twine McNease, lives in Virginia.

They have been building their friendship through the Postal Service for 50 years, and now they had the opportunity to spend some time together in person.

Throughout the years, they stuck with each other and helped each other through various difficulties. The friendship started when they were 10 years old and they continued to write throughout the years, growing their friendship as they went.

Although Teresa is afraid of flying, she decided to visit Rita and put aside her fears for the travels. They knew that life is short, and they didn’t want to wait any longer to meet in person.

According to KOAA, when they did finally see each other at the Denver International Airport, it was quite a scene.

Teresa described it in the following way: “We grabbed each other and we both promised we weren’t going to cry. It was just so wonderful seeing her. And to actually touch her, and see her and know she’s right here in front of me. I’m looking forward to the next visit, she’s asking me to live here and it wasn’t for my job, I’d be right here.”

KOAA reported that Rita went on to talk about how Teresa is her best friend and big sister. She also says that they have a lot in common, which is interesting because they started their friendship in the early 70s, when it wasn’t common for people from different lifestyles to become friends.

She said it was a surprise when they shared pictures: “She sent me her picture and I said, ‘She’s Caucasian, she might not want write because I’m a black girl.’ And she said, ‘It doesn’t matter if you were pink, or purple or polka dots, or got some green here.’ Just, the color thing didn’t matter to us. It didn’t matter to she and I.”