A BELATED 'THANK YOU' TO THE WELSH GENTLEMAN OF MY CHILDHOOD WHO WROTE AND MAILED TO ME SEVERAL HANDWRITTEN LETTERS FROM WALES

It suddenly occurred to me this Sunday night, as I waited for a bus to give me a ride home from one of my workplaces, that I should always be very appreciative of Wales.

It was a gentleman of my age residing in
Borden, Hants (Hampshire?), in Wales, Andrew Leahy, who wrote and mailed to me numerous kind and interesting letters during my childhood.

I was matched to Andrew Leahy as my foreign pen friend by the English-Speaking Union non-profit group of New York City, New York.

Among the most memorable statements that Andrew made to me in his politely candid letters:

If a classmate of his at his school in Wales ever verbalized what the teacher identified as an "Americanism", that student would be immediately punished by the teacher, Andrew informed me.

Andrew was a fervent supporter of the British Labour Party, and he delighted in ridiculing "Grocer Ted", the Conservative British Prime Minister Ted Heath, in Andrew's handwritten letters to me.

Andrew also informed me that he always rooted for Wales's soccer team whenever it competed against an English soccer team. I found it fascinating to note that his allegiance to Great Britain did not feature support for the English soccer teams.

Andrew mailed to me a very nice color group photograph of himself, his mother, and his brother, Patrick. I don't believe that Andrew's father was present for that particular photograph.

The cultural vitality that Andrew conveyed was very impressive to me: "My idea of a good time is drinking loads of coffee while listening to BBC radio" (a near-exact quote), Andrew mentioned in one of his letters to me.

Andrew also referred to his very impressive academic pursuits, with his assigned study of Latin being one of his least favorite subjects, he stated. "Ugh!" (exact quote), Andrew exclaimed on the subject of his being required to study that ancient Roman language.

Andrew also indicated in his letters that he greatly enjoyed pursuing "forensics" in his academic life. I am not sure, at this point in my own life as a current resident of Austin, Texas, USA, whether Andrew was referring to criminal investigations (unlikely that this was it, though) or public speaking.