She Found Me 50 Years Later
Yes, we were lovers in Paris; we even lived together, for about one year.
But then each of us followed a different path.
I am 80 years old, a grandfather in the USA; she, only three years younger, is a grandmother in France.
There is nothing unusual in this.
In October 2010 my wife and I were in France for a family gathering.
Too bad that I decided not to read all my email messages while there.
A very large number of them accumulated, and once at home I started deleting most messages without reading.
That's what I often do after being away for more than one week.
And suddenly, ready to delete, I noticed a familiar name.
Can it be she, I asked myself.
Probably not; many women share these first and last names.
But it was Jeanne, I recognized this as soon as I started reading.
I had a dream about you, she wrote, and this prompted me to search for you on Google.
I typed Ludwik Kowalski and found your book; it informed me about your life.
Needless to say, this message excited me.
I showed it to Linda (my wife) and responded at once.
But that reply was lost.
After waiting several weeks I sent another one, asking for her telephone number.
This time her reply arrived quickly.
I called Jeanne and introduced her to Linda, who also knows French.
Our speakerphone conversation was very emotional, on both sides of the ocean.
Jeanne cried a little; my eyes were also wet.
The beginning of our friendship was described in my diary, and in my autobiography.
Jeanne told me that her partner--they've been together for more than 30 years--did not know about this conversation.
Why is it so, I asked.
Because he might be jealous, she answered.
It did not take me long to convince her that this was not good--that he must also know about everything.
The next day all four of us participated in a long telephone conversation, in French.
Then we exchanged photos, using the Internet.
Her partner, a handsome gentleman of about the same age as me, also wants us to become friends.
I hope it will happen.
They live in southern France, in a mountainous area, not far from the Spanish border.
Jeanne and I now communicate by email regularly.
We will certainly visit them, as they suggested, during our next trip to France.
What a story! Establishing friendly relations with an ex-lover does not have to ruin existing harmony between two married people, especially between two senior citizens.
Emotional relations change with age.
This story is also an illustration of the increasingly important role of the Internet; finding someone today is much easier than it used to be.
And hiding from someone becomes more and more difficult.
Are we drifting toward a world without privacy?
But then each of us followed a different path.
I am 80 years old, a grandfather in the USA; she, only three years younger, is a grandmother in France.
There is nothing unusual in this.
In October 2010 my wife and I were in France for a family gathering.
Too bad that I decided not to read all my email messages while there.
A very large number of them accumulated, and once at home I started deleting most messages without reading.
That's what I often do after being away for more than one week.
And suddenly, ready to delete, I noticed a familiar name.
Can it be she, I asked myself.
Probably not; many women share these first and last names.
But it was Jeanne, I recognized this as soon as I started reading.
I had a dream about you, she wrote, and this prompted me to search for you on Google.
I typed Ludwik Kowalski and found your book; it informed me about your life.
Needless to say, this message excited me.
I showed it to Linda (my wife) and responded at once.
But that reply was lost.
After waiting several weeks I sent another one, asking for her telephone number.
This time her reply arrived quickly.
I called Jeanne and introduced her to Linda, who also knows French.
Our speakerphone conversation was very emotional, on both sides of the ocean.
Jeanne cried a little; my eyes were also wet.
The beginning of our friendship was described in my diary, and in my autobiography.
Jeanne told me that her partner--they've been together for more than 30 years--did not know about this conversation.
Why is it so, I asked.
Because he might be jealous, she answered.
It did not take me long to convince her that this was not good--that he must also know about everything.
The next day all four of us participated in a long telephone conversation, in French.
Then we exchanged photos, using the Internet.
Her partner, a handsome gentleman of about the same age as me, also wants us to become friends.
I hope it will happen.
They live in southern France, in a mountainous area, not far from the Spanish border.
Jeanne and I now communicate by email regularly.
We will certainly visit them, as they suggested, during our next trip to France.
What a story! Establishing friendly relations with an ex-lover does not have to ruin existing harmony between two married people, especially between two senior citizens.
Emotional relations change with age.
This story is also an illustration of the increasingly important role of the Internet; finding someone today is much easier than it used to be.
And hiding from someone becomes more and more difficult.
Are we drifting toward a world without privacy?
