Boy, do I have a story to tell!

Our plan for Memorial Day weekend was to completely redo our front landscaping as we have let the grass grow over it.  Seeing as it was 90 gazillion degrees outside all weekend, we didn't really do any of that.  So, Dave took his work inside and decide to super-clean out/declutter some spaces.  Yesterday he came down the stairs with a small slip of paper in hand.  Dave did Appalachian Service Project in high school, about 20 years ago.  This was a volunteer project he did in another state.  I don't know where he was when he did this project.  Anyway, he said, "I met a girl" while on this project.  Oooh, awesome!!!  This is his story, as told by him.



Back in the early 90's, my church youth group would head out each spring for a missions trip with ASP.  I can't remember which year this was, but we were staying at a head start school with groups from a couple other states.  In the evenings after our work was complete, we would socialize with the other kids and get to know them a bit.  Well, there was a girl I met that year from Georgia.  I maaay have had a small crush on her at the time, but don't tell anyone!  Anyhow, at the end of the week, I mustered up all my early teenage courage and asked for her address.  She entrusted me with it on one condition - that I would PROMISE to write her.

Did I mention I was reeeeally shy?  I wrote a letter, but never sent it.  Time passed, and at some point it was too late.  I must have filed away her address with other treasures of early teendom, and that's where the story ended.

Fast forward 20 years.

I was cleaning out a box of old papers - letters from high school, souvenirs from vacations, old sheet music, etc.  And I came across that name and address.  Thanks to the magic of the internet, I thought maybe I could find out whatever happened to her.  So I typed in her first name.

Well, that's odd.  Had I done this search before?  Did Google just start reading minds instead of that inconvenient keyboard thing?  And so I clicked on the first search result.

Lennon Parham (born October 26, 1976) is an American actress and comedienne best known for starring on the sitcom Accidentally on Purpose from 2009–2010 and the NBCseries Best Friends Forever in 2012.

NO.  WAY.

Not only had she gone on to become famous, WE HAD BEEN WATCHING HER ON TV, and I never put 2 and 2 together.  So, without further ado, let it never be said that I break my promises:

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Dear Lennon,


How has your summer (and the 20 years after that) been?  Mine has been good.


I thought I was going to be a doctor back then, but I ended up writing software - it was a good decision, and actually more interesting than it sounds, honest.  Ten years later, I married my wonderful wife Meredith, and we now have a dog, Sloopy.  I still live in Ohio, though I came down to Columbus for college and stuck around ever since.


I can't remember what you were going to be when you grew up, but it looks like you've done all right.  It's really great that you found something you love to do and are talented at, and have managed to make a career out of it.  I hope you and your projects have nothing but success.


Oh, and sorry I didn't write until now.


Sincerely,
Dave

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