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Dear ________:

Summer is a season of love and hope and joy -- the smell of the fresh earth and green grass, the symphonies of chirping birds, the bursting vitality of animals and people -- the renewal and celebration of all life.

Summer is alos _______, proud and warm, open, genuine and gutsy, cheerful and vibrant -- with a smile that says yes to life!

Happy Summer in New York, _______! Keep smiling -- and a sharp look-out for the first fresh flowers of July. I hope the rest of 2010 will bring you precious memories and unexpected joys!

With a smile

_______ xxx

P.S. Because you radiated a genuine warmth and friendliness when we met inside the Metropolitan Museum last Saturday -- and because your eyes tell me that you have a kind heart and a beautiful soul (the most important quality in a man or woman, _______, is the soul -- the deep, rich inner world!) -- I would be happy to send the following materials to you (i.e., if you send me your address where I can mail them): 1. many of my articles on American politics, current events and other topics; 2. "The Wanderer," an Anglo-Celtic poem and one of the most special you'll ever want to read; 3. a little gift from me to you (a home-made cassette of my favorite classical music); and 4. an excerpt from my doctoral thesis on Nietzsche and Schopenhauer ("Man's Quest for Meaning" -- in which I conclude that courage, love, loyalty, faith, kindness, forgiveness, trust and respect are eight of the most important foundations of meaning in life).

P.P.S. In case you want to know more about me, _______: I live in Central New Jersey (___________, Sayreville) -- hold B.A., M.A. (both in English), M.Ed. (in Counseling Psychology) and Ph.D. (in Philosophy of Education) degrees from Rutgers University (in New Brunswick) -- and last July I took the opportunity to retire on over $120,000 a year (including my pension, Social Security and interest from my tax sheltered annuity) -- this decision was made with great reluctance because I loved my job as a college counselor with high school students (and two of my students -- ________ in 1997and ________ in 2007 -- won the Star-Ledger Scholar Award for best student in New Jersey, earning them full scholarships to Harvard!).

I love life, _______ -- the wonder and miracle of just being alive. I also like good music (especially classical, folk, country, blue grass and traditional Irish), swimming, walking in the mountains, reading, cooking and good movies.

After traveling throughout Europe during the past 27 summers, _______, I love learning about other people's cultures -- and consider myself a citizen of the world. I oppose narrow-minded nationalists in all countries: right-wing nationalism eventually leads to the madness of fascism, like Bush's illegal, immoral war for oil in Iraq (the worst foreign policy blunder in American history -- which so far has killed one million people, according to the British medical journal 'The Lancet").

What's important in a true blooded friendship is that a man and woman share the same values. As for me, I highly value the spiritual beauty in people: fidelity, kindness, loyalty, warm-heartedness, compassion, forgiveness, trust, respect, a beautiful soul, etc.

In my view, _______, love is the essence of life: that only the spirit of love is eternal -- that the entire material world is an illusion because eventually all material things will be conquered by death and time -- and the only immortality we have is love: because the spirit of love transcends death and lives forever!

This is why, at the end of the gorgeous Broadway musical, "Les Miserables" (based on Victor Hugo's masterpiece French novel), the hero Jean Valjean says: "To love another person is to see the face of God." That's it in a nutshell, _______: love is eternal because God is love!

In addition to the above hobbies I mentioned, I also like animals (again, if you send me your address, I'll send you pictures of my striped tabby cat, my English Tudor home, and my favorite painting inside the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg by the way, _______, cats and dogs give you unconditional love -- and I believe they are kinder than most people!), art, traveling, nature, oceans, spectacular sunsets, poetry, photography and all delicious and tasty foods! (for example, I enjoy cooking roasted chicken with cranberry sauce and asparagus, baked salmon with freshly squeezed lemon juice, cheese ravioli with marinara sauce, turkey burgers with onions and diced tomatoes sauteed in olive oil, sea scallops sauteed in olive oil, linguine with marinara sauce, etc.).

A few words about happiness, _______. I believe happiness comes from the simple things in life: the joy of watching a squirrel climb up a tree, the smell of a campfire, the sound of crickets on a summer's evening, the taste of a mango, the joy of working in my garden, the smell of freshly cut grass, the sound of people laughing, the smell of moisture by the ocean, and the joy I feel when reading The New York Times withmy loving andloyal cat sleeping and purring on my lap!

Keep a song in your heart, _______ -- and write soon! I look forward to hearing from you -- and seeing you again! (since I don't know how to reach you by phone, feel free to call me at __________ -- home – and my home e-mail is ________@gmail.com).

Sweet dreams, _______ -- I kiss you across the miles!

_______ xxx

3rd and final P.S. A litttle poem especially dedicated from me to you -- I think you'll like 'em!

I do not wish you joy without sorrow
nor endless day without
the healing dark
nor brilliant sun without
the restful shadow
nor tides that never turn
against your back.

I wish you love, and strength,
and faith, and wisdom,
and goods gold enough to help
some needy one.

I wish you songs
but also blessed silence
and God's sweet peace
when every day is done.

Seol ar agharaidh le misneach, _______ -- agus nar aligai Dhia do lamh! (Irish for: Sail on forever with courage, _______ -- and may God never weaken your hand!).

_______ xxx