Thursday, February 19, 2009

Back in grade 6, an American missionary visited my homeroom class in Taytay Elementary School. I can't really recall why  the missionary was there. All I remembered was him giving out a list of names and addresses of American grade 6 students from Rochester, New York. He explained that these American grade six students wanted to have Filipino penpals.  No email yet, only slow mail. Why not? I thought it would be fun to have a penpal. I read the list and got me the most familiar name - Lawrence Gerber, or Larry.

Larry was the typical boy-next-door type. He was an A student who took his studies seriously. His parents were both teachers and I remember that he has a sister. We exchanged mails on a regular basis, maybe 2 to 3 times a month. We wrote about ourselves, our families, our school, Sunday School and more. As we grew older, there were discussions of current events, our dreams and loves. We looked out for one another. He was my friend. When I entered an all-girls high school, Larry was one of the few boys I know. Each time I receive a letter from Larry, my response was immediate. I can't remember who mailed my letters during school days but when school was out, I was a regular fixture in the local post office.

Soon enough, I was in first year college at the University of the Philippines. Since I stayed at a dormitory,  it was only on weekends that I got Larry's letters. My first boyfriend was mighty jealous of Larry. He sort of told me to stop writing my penpal Larry. I did not completely stop writing Larry but my letters became less and less frequent. That was in 1973. In 1975, after my first heartbreak, Larry and I went back to exchanging letters on a frequent mode again. By this time, he was a freshman at the University of Arizona. After a year or so, the demands of studies, boyfriends/girlfriends took its toll and we completely lost touch. My stupidity even made me burn all his letters - as demanded by my nth boyfriend. Even if I wanted to then, I can't write to Larry as I can't recall his Rochester NY address.

Life went on. Larry Gerber was forgotten. Decades after, I tried to find Larry through the internet. There were hundreds of hits and I even wrote to those whose emails I was able to get. No Larry. There was one Larry Gerber from Auburn University who actually wrote back just to say he was not the Larry I was looking for.

How I wish I could find him now.

 
Posted by desperateblogger On 2/19/2009 07:33:00 AM 15 comments

15 comments:

  1. Ay naku...I am also looking for a good friend way back in college. Filipino sya and he's in Chicago kaso ang daming kapangalan....

    Huling

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  2. Matanong nga kita? Naka ilang boyfriend ka ba before nag asawa? Grabe lovelife mo ha :)

    Buti ok lang sa asawa mo? Minsan hinanap ko sa friendster ang ex ko. Nagalit ba naman mister ko...hehehe.

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  3. Wow sana nga mahanap mo si Kuya Larry!

    The search for the RIGHT Larry Gerber!

    :)

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  4. Awwwwww......i hope you find him. I have been searching for years for my younger sister who was adopted out to another family.

    So far no luck for me either!!:-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. @ huling: ang hirap nga maghanap. pero malay natin, baka makita rin natin sila.


    @ shiela: secret!!! my hubby does not even know what a blog is much less read my blog. i've searched for my Xs too, so far 2 lang nakita ko. lol

    @ renz: ay sana nga

    @ shinade: that is so sad! i hope you do find your sister.

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  6. kaw ms lena ha, di pala alam ni mister na nagsa-cyber stalk ka kay mr larry! hehe!

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. Hahahaha....nag search ka talaga!!! So far 2 lang ang nakita mo??? Ako dalawa lang ang sine search ko na ex!! Hahaha.....

    Ano ba naman tong raket natin at ang tumal.....sayang ang oras pag upo sa harap ng pc para maghintay lang ng ililimos nila sa atin...buti na lang madamo yung likod namin. Now, if only Michael will pay me for weeding....di ko na kailangan ang mga raket na to....hehehe


    Huling

    ReplyDelete
  9. @ eMz: lol, i'm sure he won't mind kasi cyber stalking lang!

    @ huling: ay nako, hahaha, hindi pa nga ako nangangalahati sa mhin e tapos na feb!

    grabe sa tumal nga. para tayong naghihinatay sa patak ng ulan sa holy week. i really hope and pray that the economy turns for the better

    ReplyDelete
  10. hi there, would it be the larry who worked for Transworld Educational Services and taught in Turkey for a while? the pic reminds him a lot.

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  11. hello anonymous: i've no idea since i lost communication with him in 1976. all i know is that he's from rochester, ny, his parents were teachers and that he was in tuczon, arizona in college.

    ReplyDelete
  12. He might be this guy ...

    http://www.ku.ac.ae/academics/collegesandinstitutes/college/abu_dhabi/larry_gerber.aspx

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  13. İ think that is him. He was working here in Istnbul for an international language company: Transworld. But the company left turkey 3-4 years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I actually went to high school with Larry! We weren't close friends, but I remember him. I sure wish I could help you find him, but I don't know where he ended up. I've bookmarked your blog in case I hear where he is from another former classmate.

    ReplyDelete
  15. hi richard,

    great! you and anonymous has know the same larry gerber that i know. i actually followed anonymous' link and found out that indeed larry worked for transworld. i got his email from the site and wrote him but unfortunately, he was not working there anymore so the email never reached him. i hope you do find someone who knows where LG is now. thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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