March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Penpals for three years finally meet

PITTSFIELD — Shandrea Braley and Jeremy Payne were in the sixth grade three years ago simply looking for a way to complete a writing assignment, a pen-pal project devised by their respective teachers.

Braley was in Pittsfield and Payne in Ellettsville, Ind. This week, they met for the first time when Payne came to Maine.

“It’s like we’ve always known each other,” Braley said. “We never run out of things to talk about.”

When they began writing, Braley had some doubts. What did a white girl from a small-town Maine environment have in common with a black boy from a not-so-small town in the Midwest? She wasn’t sure there was anything. Time proved her wrong.

“I wasn’t into boys then,” she said. “I was doing it (writing) for the grade like everyone else. But, the more we wrote, the more we had in common — sports and our families.”

“They wrote faithfully, and I mean faithfully, even after their classmates stopped,” said Braley’s mother, Sharon Baker. “And, when they called each other, they talked and talked.”

“We lost contact when we both moved,” said Braley. “But, we started in again. We always told him, `come to Maine.’ This year, he did. He got a ticket for Christmas.”

The trip was Payne’s first solo adventure away from home and also a first flight. He arrived in Bangor on Saturday, March 14.

Waiting to fly out of Indiana, Payne saw Maine-bound skiers decked out in fur boots and was convinced he didn’t have the right clothes. His intial thoughts were it was going to be colder than he had expected.

“He bought all kinds of extra clothes. But, when he visited school, he found out everyone wears the same things he does,” said Baker. “He gets to Maine, and what does he want to do? Hang-out. Lift weights. Check out the malls and go big-ball bowling. The same things he does at home.”

“Yeah, but it’s different doing it with a new friend,” said Payne.

Doing “things” in Maine is slightly different, he’s had to admit. Small towns in Maine, he says, are small, but with big houses and lots of friendly people.

“He can’t go anywhere, but someone knows him. This is a small town. We know a lot of people, and they knew Shandrea’s pen pal was coming,” Baker said. “He was also concerned he would stick out in all-white Maine. But, coming to Pittsfield, he soon found out, he couldn’t possibly stick out, while school is in session.”

From a recent article in Sports Illustrated, he was sure MCI would have the largest buildings in town. MCI’s ability to attract and place top athletes was another fact that peaked his interest in coming to Maine.

“I’d like to come here (MCI) if my Mom would let me. I’d like to be like my father in football, finish what he started. (Payne’s father played college ball and had plans to pay professionally.) I’m told I have talent. I just need someone to mold it, I guess, and here at least there scouts are around. In Ellettsville, no one knows I’m there.”

The balance of Payne’s visit was capped with a visit to Braley’s sixth grade classroom and teacher Jim Louder, who was pleased with the success and lasting friendship begun in his classroom. The final round of travel also included a sightseeing tour of Augusta.


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