Man finds child's message from Texas

When you're turning 3 years old, you don't yet have to hide your age. In fact, the honored celebrity of the day, parents and grandparents alike often want to shout out their good news to the rest of the world.

Which is probably why 3-year-old Makenzie of Pampa, Texas, sent off a note among about 100 pink, purple and white balloons on her third birthday Nov. 2. The bundle was found in a corn field six days later by Danny Hahn, who was combining north of Cape Girardeau.

"They weren't in my way. I was curious to see what they were. I could have just raised the header up and ran over them," Hahn said. "But anytime I see a helium balloon, I have to stop and investigate."

It was dusk when Hahn picked up the balloons and stuck the note in his pocket. Later that night when emptying his pockets, he rediscovered the letter and read it.

Even with a big hole in the middle, he could make out that the note said, "I turned 3 today Nov. 2, 2002. If you find this send me a card. Makenzie, PO Box 46, Pampa, TX 79066."

820 miles away

A relative of Hahn's looked Pampa, Texas, up on the computer and learned the town has a population of 21,000 and is in the panhandle of the Lone Star State, about 820 miles from Cape Girardeau.

Hahn lives and farms near Egypt Mills with his uncle and aunt, Willie and Vernell Rodenberry. It was the Rodenberrys' field Hahn was shelling when he found the balloons.

"The wind usually comes out of the west here, so I think the balloons probably traveled across Oklahoma and the corner of Arkansas before turning to come here," Hahn said.

This isn't the first time Hahn has come upon a letter delivered by helium air mail. About 20 years ago, he found one in a milo field from a boy in Excelsior Springs, Mo. Though Hahn returned a card, he never heard anything back.

Hahn hopes it's different with Makenzie. He sent the child a birthday card, along with her original note and the one happy birthday balloon in the bunch.

"It's exciting to me. I might make new friends that I never knew, and then there's the one-in-a-million chance it might be somebody I know," Hahn said. "We've been tracing our family tree lately, and that is very interesting to me, though it gets mind-boggling after a while."

jgosche@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133