As a result of my love for horses, I have made many life long friends. My penpal, Susan Jensen, is one of them. She found my name in the penpal section of Horse and Rider magazine and sent me a letter introducing herself in 1970. We were both twelve and have been writing ever since.
Letters from the mid 1970s, two with my old college dorm address!
Sue and me goofing around at Universal Studios in 1975. (Okay, so I am the goof; Sue's acting respectably.)
Sue with her niece and sister in 2018.
We have been through a lot together - Sue lost a husband to an aggressive brain tumor and is currently battling breast cancer. I have had a host of surgeries including my most recent pancreatic surgery. We've buried parents and other loved ones, raised families, and through it all...
... the letters keep coming.
Sue was very active in the early days of the model horse hobby but showing her real horses eventually took precedent. In the late 1980s she gifted me with her three favorite models:
Tico,
On the Run,
and Apache Dancer.
Sue used to keep her horses in the same barn as Bill did, and they became good friends. So, when his third science fiction book came out, she asked him to autograph it for me. Now that's a good friend!
Sue and I will celebrate having been friends and penpals for 50 years in 2020. I am looking for ideas as to how to celebrate that with her. Not many people can say that they have had a penpal (and dear friend) for that long!
