For 48 years I had been writing to my English pen pal. My mom had written to her mom and dad many years ago, and then I started corresponding with her, and I finally met her. Last summer after dozens of letters I decided to go to England and meet her. The Volleyball Hall of Fame has come a long way since it was first set up in the bathroom of a Holyoke museum. You're standing on a rocky beach looking out at vast blue water that rolls from horizon to horizon.
Waves break on the boulders.
Gulls soar and squeak. Sunshine gleams on a million ripples. Several of them, actually, and they're all fast. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the new giant pandas at the National Zoo, are pulling in crowds who delight in their romping, playing and feeding.