My Wonderful Pen Pals

I’m going to age myself terribly when I tell you there was a time when collecting the mail and searching through it for a letter from a friend was just the best.  Multiply that by the number of pen pals I had as a kid, and the mail became an absolute bounty. Communicating by mail was of course my generation’s email, and it was such a fun way to keep in touch.

This week’s Wednesday podcast features a conversation with two of my friends obtained through the art of the letter – Mary Ziegler-Martin and Julie Pietryla.    We met as pen pals based on similar interests, and ultimately bonded through our love of hockey, baseball, and Billy Joel.

Mary grew up in suburban St. Louis, and though she settled in the Atlanta area, she remains a rabid St. Louis Cardinals fan just like me.  Julie grew up outside of Chicago and is a dedicated sports fan of those Windy City teams, and we all have loved Billy Joel forever. 

Now, we remain connected through social media, and continue our dedicated fandom to our teams and the Piano Man.  We haven’t been together in person for some time, though I did get to enjoy a drink with Mary at a bar in Key West in 2024, but I look forward to a reunion and catching up even more.

You can learn more about Mary Ziegler-Martin at the following sites:

Tea Quilts:  https://m.youtube.com/@teaquilts

People, Planet, and Health vodcast, highlighting how each category effects the other, and the importance of harmony between them:  https://youtu.be/wu9WOtuOL5c

Wild Cumberland, her pet/passion project:  https://wildcumberland.org/

Her business website:  https://mzmcreative.com/

Julie Pietryla loves her husband's internet radio station, Cottonwood Radio, an eclectic mix of North American music from the earliest records to the present, focusing on its roots. Find it at https://live365.com/station/Cottonwood-Radio-a63449 or at www.cottonwoodradio.com.

Thanks for listening!

Listen to today's podcast at https://riverside.fm/shared/exported-clip/82f9776d3c19d7ddead9