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Tony Trapani discovers a letter his wife hid from him since 1959.
Writing a letter is truly a lost art form, and many young people will never know the joy of it. You had to choose your words carefully and say everything you wanted to say. Once you sent it off, there was no way to be sure it was delivered. No way to know if it had been opened or read. You couldn't take it back or send it again. You just put it in the mailbox and hoped for the best. It was excruciating and magical all at the same time.
One story of a letter never delivered has captured the hearts of readers everywhere. A heart-warming local news story gone viral for the best reasons.
Tony Trapani and his wife were married for 50 years despite the heartache of being unable to have children. "She wanted children,” Trapani told Fox 17. "She couldn't have any. She tried and tried." Even though they endured the pain of infertility, Tony's love for his wife never wavered and he cherished every moment they spent together.
Tony Trapani received the most important letter of his life, but he didn't see it for 50 years Photo by Álvaro Serrano on Unsplash
After his wife passed away when Tony was 81 years old, he undertook the heartbreaking task of sorting out all of her belongings. In particular was a mountain of papers stuffed into filing cabinets. Trapani diligently went through every single one.
That’s when he stumbled upon a carefully concealed letter in a filing cabinet hidden for over half a century.
The letter was addressed to Tony and dated March 1959, but this was the first time he had seen it. His wife must have opened it, read it and hid it from him. The letter came from Shirley Childress, a woman Tony had once been close with before his marriage. She reached out, reminiscing about their past and revealing a secret that would change Tony's world forever.
"Dear Tony, I bet you are surprised to hear from me after so many years. I was just thinking about you tonight like so many other nights. But I thought I would write you and find out how you are," the letter reads. "Tony, please don't be angry or surprised to hear this. I have a little boy. He is five-years- old now - grey eyes and beautiful black hair. What I am trying to say Tony is he is your son."
"Please, Tony if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, please come and see him," Shirley wrote in the letter. "Every day he asks me where is his daddy and believe me Tony I can't even answer him anymore. I would be forever grateful to you if you would just see him. ... I'll close now hoping and praying you will answer. P.S. His name is Samuel Duane."
Now, Tony faced the fact that he had a son that would be around 60 years old and he set out to find him.
For over a year, Trapani’s sister tried to track down the mysterious Samuel Duane Childress, until she finally contacted his wife, Donna.
Tony and Samuel met in January 2015 and he felt like a new dad. After meeting his father, Samuel said his mother told him she sent the letter, but Tony never responded. "Why my wife didn't tell me," said Trapani, "I don't know. She wanted children. She couldn't have any. She tried and tried."
It's easy to understand why it may have been hard for Trapani's late wife, Dolly, to pass along that sort of news. Though we'll never know what exactly must have been in her heart and mind when she hid the letter all those years ago.
"I always asked my mom, I said, 'Well what does he look like?'' Samuel said. "She said, 'Well, go look in the mirror."
The two met and caught up on a lifetime of memories with the understanding that they could never change the past. "Just to know him now is so important to me. It's going to fill that void," Samuel said.
But just to be sure, Tony took a paternity test to ensure they were father and son. Stunning everyone involved, the test came back negative. Tony was not the father.
Tony and Samuel didn't waste time thinking about what might have been if he'd seen the letter earlier. Photo by Ire Photocreative on Unsplash
The news upset Tony and Samuel, but they still had a unique bond. They shared a relationship with Samuel’s mother and both have been on an incredibly wild ride after Tony found the mysterious letter.
“They're keeping that bond,” Donna said. “That paper doesn't mean anything to him. That bond has been made—and we're going to move on from here.”
Tony Trapani passed away in 2017, leaving him just two short years to connect with the man he once believed to be his son. If he'd seen the letter earlier, maybe they would have had more time. But that's all in the past, and by all accounts the men treasured the time they got together, and the relationship that they did have — not the one they wished for.
This article originally appeared earlier this year. It has been updated.
A woman eating pizza (left). A nervous man on the telephone (right)
Anyone who has spent time around someone growing a whole new human knows this universal truth: their cravings are as mysterious as they are powerful. One minute everything is normal. The next minute there is an URGENT need for super-specific, slightly bizarre, borderline disturbing food combinations you have never witnessed in the wild.
But again…when a body is creating another body from scratch…can we really question what fuel is required to do so?
And if you think that weird pregnancy cravings only exist in movies, check out this story.
A soon-to-be father recently went viral after placing what might be the most bewildering pizza order of the year. Maybe the decade. Possibly of all recorded history.
The order: one large pizza with triple pepperoni, extra cheese, banana peppers, light jalapeños, half chicken, half mushrooms, half caramelized onions, half olives, and light sauce. Because no one likes a soggy everything pizza.
If you’re wondering how many "halves" can fit on one pizza, you’re in good company. That was a major question in the comments.
"But which halves go with which halves?????" one person exclaimed.
Restaurant Warriors (Public) | Facebook www.facebook.com
Another questioned: "Is it a whole half with chicken, mushrooms, caramelized onions, and olives? Or is it half with chicken, the other half with mushrooms, the half with the chicken with caramelized onions, and the other half with olives? I mean, that could go a million different ways…"
But even more entertaining than the toppings was the message typed into the order notes:
"Bro, yes, I know this looks insane," the husband admitted, trying his best to be polite.
But then he explained, "I’m the dude who has a very pregnant wife." And truly no further explanation was required, but he continued.
"I’m done questioning what she wants. I’m scared of her and honestly you should be, too." The sincerity in this is undeniable.
He then ended his message rather heroically, saying: "I promise this is the order. Thank you and godspeed."
One man’s plea is the internet’s laughter
Reactions to this husband’s request were as delightfully varied as his wife’s pizza order.
"Bro didn’t order pizza…he submitted a cry for help," one person quipped. Another joked, "Happy wife, keep your life."
Others were onboard with this order, as well as the price.
"That pie sounds fire."
"Ok but 17.99 for that? Honestly a steal."
Another person called the request for light sauce "the ultimate plot twist," which prompted several to hypothesize that this might have been to avoid pregnancy heartburn. So maybe there’s a method to the madness!
But overwhelmingly people united around one sentiment: this man is trying his best.
"I know he’s your husband, but you gotta marry him again."
Cheers to this fella and his wife, and godspeed indeed.
Images via Twitter
Dad writes brilliantly-sarcastic letter to school in protest of antiquated field trip idea.
It's not uncommon for parents to have differences of opinion about the way their kids' school chooses to do things. But sometimes the baffling decisions schools and teachers make can leave us rubbing our eyes and unsure if we're losing our minds.
In 2017, Stephen Callaghan's daughter Ruby came home from school. When he asked her how her day was, her answer made him raise an eyebrow. Ruby, who was in the sixth grade at her school in Australia, told her dad that the boys would soon be taken on a field trip to Bunnings (a hardware chain in the area) to learn about construction.
The girls, on the other hand? While the boys were out learning, they would be sent to the library to have their hair and makeup done. Ruby's reply made Callaghan do a double take. What year was it, again? The days of boys taking shop while the girls take home economics are supposed to be long gone.
mad little girl GIF Giphy
Callaghan decided to write a letter to the school sharing his disappointment — but his wasn't your typical "outraged parent" letter.
"Dear Principal," he began. "I must draw your attention to a serious incident which occurred yesterday at your school where my daughter is a Year 6 student."
"When Ruby left for school yesterday it was 2017," Callaghan continued. "But when she returned home in the afternoon she was from 1968."
The letter goes on to suggest that perhaps the school is harboring secret time-travel technology or perhaps has fallen victim to a rift in the "space-time continuum," keeping his daughter in an era where women were relegated to domestic life by default.
"I look forward to this being rectified and my daughter and other girls at the school being returned to this millennium where school activities are not sharply divided along gender lines," he concluded.
Dear Principal
I must draw your attention to a serious incident which occurred yesterday at your school where my daughter Ruby is a Year 6 student.
When Ruby left for school yesterday it was 2017 but when she returned home in the afternoon she was from 1968.
I know this to be the case as Ruby informed me that the "girls" in Year 6 would be attending the school library to get their hair and make-up done on Monday afternoon while the "boys" are going to Bunnings.
Are you able to search the school buildings for a rip in the space-time continuum? Perhaps there is a faulty Flux Capacitor hidden away in the girls toilet block.
I look forward to this being rectified and my daughter and other girls at the school being returned to this millennium where school activities are not sharply divided along gender lines.
Yours respectfully
Stephen Callaghan
Stephen Callaghan and his letter Images via Twitter
When Callaghan posted the letter to Twitter (since deleted), it quickly went viral and inspired hundreds of supportive responses.
Though most people who saw his response to the school's egregiously outdated activities applauded him, not everyone was on board.
One commenter wrote, "Sometimes it is just ok for girls to do girl things."
But Callaghan was ready for that. "Never said it wasn't," he replied. "But you've missed the point. Why 'girl things' or 'boy things'... Why not just 'things anyone can do?'"
Though he's exaggerated the point, the point still stands. In the 1970s, girls were known to be expelled or even arrested for wearing uniform pants instead of their assigned uniform skirts. They also often had no option to participate in metal or wood shop and were compelled to take home economics. And, of course, many of the top universities at the time would not even consider women applicants.
Callaghan later commented that he didn't think the school's plan was as malicious as all that, but noted the incident was a powerful example of "everyday sexism" at work.
Callaghan says the school hasn't responded to his letter. (Yes, he really sent it.) At least, not directly to him.
Some media outlets have reported that the school claims students are free to opt in and out of the different activities. But, as Callaghan says, gendering activities like this in the first place sends the completely wrong message. It's not much different than telling kids that pink is for girls and dinosaurs are for boys. It ends up limiting everyone.
In response to the outpouring of support, Callaghan again took to Twitter.
"At 12 years of age my daughter is starting to notice there are plenty of people prepared to tell her what she can and can't do based solely on the fact she is female," he wrote. "She would like this to change. So would I."
This article originally appeared eight years ago. It has been updated.