On December 7th 1944, during World War 2, my grandparents shared an evening together on a small island in the Pacific. A Red Cross donut girl, Helen, and her wandering sailor boy, Bill. They shared a dance and an evening walk with a promise to see each other the following morning. They called it their "mañana". However, the next day Helen was unexpectedly shipped off. To keep her promise as best she could, she wrote a letter not knowing if she would ever hear back. But she did, and they would go on to exchanged over 200 of the most beautiful handwritten letters.

Although they had only spent an hour together on a blind date, a bond quickly grew into a love that would last a lifetime, fulfilling their dreams of "mañana". Helen's innocent act to initiate correspondence caused a ripple effect that would change not only their lives, but lead to me.