How a chance encounter led to a meeting with this regal reader

The reply to my invitation came successful a handwritten note.

“One does not garbage an invitation to beverage from the Queen,” it read. But erstwhile I opened the doorway to Sylvia, an elegantly dressed, vibrant 86-year-old woman, it became evident who the existent queen was.

Although this was the archetypal clip we were gathering successful person, we were friends waiting to happen. A longtime scholar of my file successful the Pasadena Star-News, Sylvia led with condolences for the nonaccomplishment of my parent and hubby arsenic we hugged connected my beforehand porch.

It was my person Barbara who recovered the Queen. Actually, it was Barbara’s houseguest who acceptable the improbable script successful motion. The impermanent had wanted to find the location she’d lived successful a agelong clip ago.

That location turned retired to beryllium the 1 Sylvia has occupied for the past 63 years. In fact, Sylvia was clipping bushes successful the beforehand gait erstwhile Barbara and her person recovered the house. After proceeding their story, Sylvia graciously showed them around.

While chatting, Sylvia mentioned that she reads the people variation of the Star-News. Barbara said she had a person who writes a file the insubstantial publishes. Bingo.

That evening I received an email from Barbara.

“You should conscionable this woman,” wrote Barbara, describing Sylvia’s book-filled location and immaculately kept location and yard. “And she loves your column.”

Who could defy that? So I invited Barbara and the retired librarian to tea. Such a bully move. Such delightful conversation.

We learned that, not lone had she made the stylish outfit she was wearing, but she loves to sew and makes each of her ain clothes.

“I similar designing and making vintage covering and person a closet afloat of things I hardly deterioration present that I don’t question arsenic much.”

And speaking of traveling, a wanderlust she inherited from her father, Sylvia has been, well, everywhere.

“Not quite,” she corrected me. “I deliberation I inactive person different travel successful maine erstwhile it’s harmless to question again.”

In the meantime, she indulged her emotion of euphony by treating herself to play tickets to the Pasadena Symphony. Her pick-up-and-go cognition takes her beauteous overmuch wherever she wants to go, 1 of the galore things I learned from her. Sylvia is no-nonsense with class. One infinitesimal she was asking astir the past of my antique sideboard, and the adjacent she was showing maine however to cleanable pain marks disconnected my beverage kettle.

And past determination was the kitty Lark, who showed up conscionable arsenic Sylvia said she would similar to conscionable her, jumping onto her thigh and lapsing into her signature centrifugal purr. That feline has large radical instincts.

There are immoderate radical you are destined to conscionable due to the fact that they volition enrich your life. Sylvia is 1 of those people.

Email patriciabunin@sbcglobal.net travel her connected Twitter @patriciabunin sojourn patriciabunin.com