Ralph’s Letters
Jane LaFazio
2006
Ralph and I met at in about 1970 or 71 in Alaska, when I worked at Mt. McKinley National Park (now called Denali Nat’l Park). We were both 20, and had dreams of adventure and passion. We stayed in touch through letters and visits until about 1975, in and out of each others lives as friends and lovers.
I have saved about a dozen letters from him for all these years. Something about him, our friend/lover relationship, how it just slowed and stopped, with no ending, remained a very fond and positive memory. By 1975, the letter writing just faded away, and I learned recently, it was around the time he met his now wife, and I met my, now husband.
I re-read his letters, when we moved in 2003, and they were so wonderful--from Utah, Washington, Oregon, Egypt and Morocco. It’s not that they were love letters, not at all, just letters telling of his boring jobs, or exciting adventures. Both mundane and thrilling. We were both in our twenties, I was a flight attendant flying the world, living in the San Francisco area, he a sometime student and traveler. His letters eloquently described those eventful and fearless times. Ralph’s letters chronicle a precious chapter of my life.
Partway through the process of creating these quilts, I googled ‘Ralph Lowe.’ There were very few entries, but one from Southern California listed his age (the same as mine) and just seemed like it might be right. After I got the courage I called and left a message. Three or four days later, Ralph called. He, too, had fond memories of me, was also happily married (him 27 years to my 29 year marriage.)
He’s a high school English teacher in private boarding school in Southern California and continues to write beautifully.
Here’s what Ralph wrote in an email, about the “Ralph’s Letters” quilts:
From: Ralph Lowe
Sent: Friday, October 06, 2006 8:21 AM
To: Jane LaFazio
"The quilts are lovely things and a real testament to a complicated, redolent and every once in a while, glorious days. I thank you for preserving us and for seeing the sublime in the seemingly mundane, I applauded your obvious talent and vision and thank you again for keeping a significant part of my youth alive. They are soft, feminine and fiercely protective at the very same time. Thank you for holding on to us. Love, Ralph"
