EDITOR’S NOTE: We are in the midst of trying something a little different. Each staff member will write a letter to someone they never met but wish they had. Perhaps a hero. Maybe a villain. Maybe someone never known to the larger world. Real or fictional. Alive or dead. Below is Part 3 of our 5-part series. You can find Letter #1 here and Letter #2 here. We hope you find this exercise in literary fantasy thoughtful and intriguing.
Hellen Keller and Anne Sullivan
Dear Helen Keller,
I cannot even begin to say how much I have been looking forward to have this opportunity to write to you. I’m sorry we could not meet in person for now. But I hope you get the chance to read this, because of all the people I’ve ever looked up to (aside from Jesus) you were the very first I deeply admired.
It was my older sister who first introduced me to your story about being born blind and deaf and how you overcame these things.. Eventually you learned to communicate through sign language thanks to your mother not giving up and the persistence of your teacher, Anne Sullivan.
…of all the people I’ve ever looked up to… you were the very first I deeply admired.
I remember watching an animated short about you as a kid and thinking, “Jesus is going to heal her! Jesus is going to heal her!” While I was disappointed that it did not physically happen, I was blown away at the aftermath as you learned to talk. The epilogue summarized how you went on to achieve more in life by going to Radcliff College, inspiring anyone disabled. The narrator explained how you went on to encourage wounded soldiers of World War II.
