15-YEAR PEN PALS DOING `WRITE' THING BY MEETING

Pamela Whiteside is finally going to meet her close friend of 15 years. Whiteside, a 24-year-old Jackson native, and Deanne Norton, of Maine, have considered themselves close friends for 15 years though they have never met.

Their friendship began when they were in the fifth grade, while Whiteside was attending West Lane Elementary and Norton going to school in Maine.

Each of their classes were asked to write a letter to a student at a different school. As luck would have it, they got each others.

And they've been writing ever since. They write about once every other month and "talk" about things most friends do.

"We just write about general day-to-day stuff," said Whiteside, who works as a hair stylist at JCPenny in Cape Girardeau. "We've shared problems about boyfriends and talked about travel and where we're working, talked about our interests -- just like most friends.

"We share everything."

And Whiteside said she feels like they're close, despite never having met.

"We just connected so well through the letters and I know she's a very sweet person," Whiteside said. "And she's dedicated, she must be to have kept corresponding with me all these years."

Their friendship is important to Whiteside who said that Norton really has came through for her through the years.

Once, Whiteside remembers going through some especially trying times and Norton gave her a lot of emotional support and positive feedback and Whiteside said she needed and appreciated that.

And now they're going to finally meet. Yesterday, Whiteside boarded a plane headed to Maine where she will attend Norton's wedding next week.

Norton got engaged over the Christmas holiday last year and when Whiteside found out, by mail of course, she decided it was time they met.

"It's like an adventure," Whiteside said. "I've never done anything like this before."

Getting on a plane is something Whiteside has never done before. She said she's not really scared but she has heard some horror stories about luggage "ending up in Transylvania."

Whiteside said she knows exactly how she and Norton are going to meet. Norton's bachelorette party is on the day that Whiteside arrives.

"And the bachelorette party's going to pick me up at the airport," Whiteside said, who said she should have no problem finding them. "I think I can spot about a dozen drunk women in an airport."

Whiteside said she has gotten no criticism from her friends or family.

"They all think it's neat," she said.

While these two friends are obviously close, Whiteside said this can only bring them closer.

"We're going to have a lot of time to do some bonding while I'm there," Whiteside said. "We're going to get to know each other a lot better."

There was a three-year period when they stopped writing. Whiteside said they were in their teens so she said that's pretty understandable.

"Those are the crazy times anyway," Whiteside said.

But when she came across Norton's letters in a cedar chest, she just had to write.

It was at Christmas time, so Whiteside sent her a Christmas card and they picked up correspondence again.

"I actually felt guilty and I missed hearing from her," Whiteside said.

For a wedding gift, Whiteside cross-stitched Norton a picture that has two houses on it with the appropriate message "The path to a friend's home is never long."

She also got her a picnic basket full of homemade jams, jellies, barbecue sauce and salad dressing.

"She already told me that when I get married that she'll come to my wedding," Whiteside said. "But I told her she'll probably have grandchildren by then.

"She said nevertheless they'll come anyway."