Larry Gerber

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.