Yesterday, I responded to an article I read on TheLatest. It was written by a woman who lives in California and whose writing truly impressed me.

I spend a great deal of time alone now, and making contact with such a person has somehow changed my life in a miraculous way.

As we grow older, we all need friends. Something tells me that she and I may well become both friends and correspondents as a product of my response to what she had written for TheLatest. This morning we spent some special time sharing information about our lives that might never have taken place had it not been for this wonderful blog.

I am rarely able to cry, and her complimentary words sent after reading a poem I had written were capable of making me do so. In addition, I was able to send one of her articles to my daughter who is struggling with a difficult physical problem. The article this woman had written spoke of God and prayer and obviously was very meaningful to her.

How fortunate was I to find words that not only touched my daughter's heart but have apparently created a bond between the woman of whom I write and me.

The dialogue that we shared dealt with many things, but what I find most significant is that I was able to find another human being that I was delighted to refer to as a friend.

As a college professor, I devoted much of my time attempting to help my students recognize that skin color has no relevance at all. I grew up in a home where I became "color blind," and this perspective has remained with me throughout my life. The woman with whom I am corresponding, and hope to meet one day soon, just happens to be of African American origin. As far as I am concerned, and what I shared with her, was that I had been active in the civil rights movement and was a supporter of Barack Obama.

In addition, I shared that I had devoted much of my time teaching to being placed in classes that were not specifically of one color. My goal was to help in my own way to do away with the bigotry that has proven so divisive in this country.

The young people who are forced to grow up in ghetto communities deserve better than that. The words "all men are created equal" should mean more. Americans must live by them, and I have done whatever I could to help create an atmosphere in my classes that was predicated upon that perspective.

I asked my new friend if she planned on being in Vegas one of these days, and she responded that hopefully she will be able to come here one day soon so we can meet.  In light of her special ability to write, I would consider it an honor to spend some time getting to know her better in person.