Dear Haroun,

Dear Diary,

Angelo:  Papa, Adam and I really like making friends and keeping in touch here on our blog.  As more people visit our site and we get more messages, our circle of friends is growing wider.

New friends are wonderful but it's equally wonderful is when old friends resurface after a long absence. Very recently I received this message in the comment section of one of my postings:

Angelo? ANGELO!! 

My dear Angelo, 

So many years have passed since my Mamma and I would sit together to read your Picture Trail blog and so many not very nice things have happened in the meantime. The worst for me was being locked in a box for what I now know was years and years.

Did you know that you are the reason I am here? Probably not, but Mamma saw you and fell in love with the idea of having a boy just like you. She took a few months to find me and then had to keep me a big secret but we would spend an hour or two each day together and looked out for your posts with great excitement.

Do you still have those beautiful tea sets? Does your Papa still make wonderful sweaters? I would ask you so many questions if I could.

A big Welcome to Adam. I think he is very handsome. Please say to him that some humans are just rude and thoughtless. It says more about their lack of understanding of the world when they say bad things about others than it does about the doll or human they are abusing. Believe me, my Mamma only showed me off once and, because I have an Arabic name, we got so much abuse that we gave up on the humans who SAY they like dolls. 

Doll groups are about showing off and are not for Mamma and me. Two people said I must be a terrorist! Me? I'm a Gregor doll, for goodness sake. We are a peaceful, friendly lot, aren't we?

Well, I'll look forward to your next post.
Your friend,
Haroun.


When I read this to Papa, we both became teary-eyed - not because it made us sad but because it touched our hearts.  We both remember Haroun from the pre-blog days when I had an account on Picturetrail.  I loved sharing photos and adventures on it but there came a time when we decided to end it.  I don't think we ever stopping wanting to share with others and that's why Papa started this blog.  

A cozy nook in the secretary for writing a letter.

Here is my reply to Haroun:

Dear Haroun,

Your letter is most welcome and has made me very happy.  Yes, it's been a long time since I was on PictureTrail.  Papa stopped it when he couldn't find the time to keep it up and he didn't really like the format.  Now that we are in the blogger age, it is quicker and easier to do a posting and he likes that format much better.  But, that's not to say that we didn't miss our PT friends - like you!  


I can still remember what it was like to stay in my box for 20+ years until I came to live with my papa.  I'm sorry there have been unpleasantries in your life.  Can you share with me what happened to make you spend so much time put away?  I'm sad to hear it.


No, I didn't know that I was the reason you are with your mama; I am very honoured!  My papa says he understands her feelings about wanting a boy doll to play with.  How exciting that you were her special secret and you both had special times together.


Yes, we still have the tea sets although we lost many pieces in the big earthquake.  But, Papa is a "hunter & gatherer" and thanks to his searching, our sets have multiplied quite a bit. We now have 75 complete sets; we rotate them, using a different one each day for afternoon tea.  


My papa still knits the Fair Isle jumpers.  He just began another one.  He said to tell you he'll post a photo of it here once it's completed.  


I will pass on your nice (and deserving!) comments about Adam to him. (We think he's very handsome, too.) He will certainly appreciate them.  He's been a victim of dolling nastiness but life here has been so positive for him that he's very happy now. Tell your mama to proudly show you off whenever she can! 


My name is Italian.  I didn't know yours was Arabic; I think it's a very nice name.  I can't imagine why people would be abusive about it but then again like you said, people can be rude and thoughtless.  I'm proud of my name - be proud of yours, too!


Frankly, we Sasha dolls could never be terrorists because of the philosophy of our grandmother, Sasha Morgenthaler.  She knew war and its terrors and created us to be playthings for the post-war children.  Never could a Sasha doll do any harm to anyone or anything.


Hearing from you after all these years has warmed my heart. Thank you for remembering me and for taking the time to write to me again.  I hope we can stay in touch for a long time.


Your Friend,


Angelo


And, this is what friendship is all about.

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