Emails brought news from friends

Editor’s note: The column is being reprinted from Feb. 25, 2004. One of Jack’s joys was keeping in contact with friends and colleagues scattered around the globe. With all of his travels, he had many.

Our computer doesn’t chirp, “You’ve got mail!”

But when we get mail, I sometimes still feel like chirping.

There’s something about communication with the outside world — with others — that we all cherish, even though we might pretend otherwise.

When I went off to college, one of the surprising ancillary benefits was my own mailbox. Regular mail and campus mail found its way into box 1066 with regularity.

But for every time I received mail, I think I checked the box ten times. Zip-zip-zip, I’d do the combination, only to find it empty.

The same is true at home. It’s entirely possible that I checked the mailbox five times Saturday before mail actually arrived. I’m not proud of that apparent neediness, but it’s a fact of life.

E-mail is another story.

Because we’re iMac people at our house, we’re spared much of the spam e-mail that’s out there. (When Macintosh occupies more than three percent of the American market, perhaps hackers and spammers will take an interest in it.)

So e-mail traffic is a little slow at our house at times.

The weekend brought a typical, and typically odd-ball, mix.

Friday, we received a note from Dan Gelston, the CR’s much-hated former sports editor. Dan’s working in his dream job, covering professional and college sports for the Associated Press in Philadelphia. His note was worth a quick response and an atta-boy to keep him pumped up.

Saturday’s e-mail brought a great letter from Tom Keller, a Mercer County kid who is working for the Peace Corps in Moldova. We met with him before he left, simply because we’re the only family around these parts who have lived in Moldova. And Tom’s been nice enough to keep us in the loop as he continues to do his best to make a difference and make the world a better place. We’re proud of him and delighted to be kept informed.

The same day’s e-mail also brought other news.

Alister Coates, son of some English friends, provided us with an update on his activities. His parents are amazing, both deeply involved in church mission activities.

Alister’s not falling far from the tree.

He’s graduating this spring from the equivalent of high school but is taking a year off to earn money for college.

That’s not out of the ordinary, but Alister’s also raising money to build an orphanage in Kenya. He’s going back to Kenya to build the thing this summer.

That is out of the ordinary.

The last time I talked to Alister, he was 12. He’s only 18 now.

Before he is 20, he will have built an orphanage in an often-forgotten land.

How amazing is that?

It’s enough to make you chirp, “You’ve got mail!” when you learn of it.