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Dear Ann Landers,
am Bea McGraw, the woman who gave the $20 bill to the newly adopted Russian girl on the plane to Adanta. I am a teacher for the Department of Defense Dependents School in Weis- baden, Germany. You were right, Ann, when you said someone was sure to tell me about your column. I heard about it the day the column appeared. I had been out of the building most of the day, so I missed several calls. When I finished practicing with the German-American choir, a teacher friend told me my name was in Stars and Stripes, the news-paper for the Armed Forces. I said, "Yeah, right!" and laughed. She elaborated, "You are in Ann Landers' column, and I am not kid-ding." I insisted that I had never written to you, but my friend asked, "Did you meet a lady on a plane who adopted a child from Russia?" I couldn't believe my ears. I bought the newspaper at once and read all the details. Ann, that couple did such a good job with their little girl. By the time we arrived in Adanta, most of us did know about that sweet fam-ily because whenever her mother needed to leave for the rest room, the baby would scream. She was otherwise very well behaved. I wanted to express my appreciation to the adoptive parents for what they had done, but I had only a few seconds because the plane had landed and I needed to secure my luggage, go through customs and make my connecting flight. So I gave the little girl her first $20 bill. I am planning to come to the United States soon and hope to arrange a visit and see for myself how that litde girl is doing. Because of your column, I have received letters from all over the world. Friends I haven't seen in 20 years have written. Many people do good deeds every day and never get recognized. You will never know how many lives you touch, Ann. I am honored that someone remembered my moment of thoughtfulness. -Bea McGraw, Weisbaden, Germany
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