At first glance, Debbie Brandt thought the stiff yellow envelope waiting for her might hold junk mail, but something made her take a second glance, and inside, she found a treasure she never expected -- a handwritten note with President Barack Obama's signature.
The white card with the presidential seal held these words, written in black ink:
"Deborah --
"Thanks so much for the article, the lovely letter and the support."
It was signed: "Barack Obama."
This past winter, Brandt came across an article in the Wichita Falls (Texas) Times Record News describing the time the president's mother spent as a child in Vernon, Texas. People remembered Stanley Ann Dunham as a little girl with thick hair, who was kind, and who was a member of a group called the Friendly Blue Birds.
Dunham married in 1960, and in August of the next year, welcomed Barack Obama Jr. into the world. Ovarian cancer claimed her life in 1995. She was 52.
Brandt's own mother -- and best friend -- was on her mind early this year. Her mother, Marjorie Roberts, died in November, just days after Obama was elected president.
The mother and daughter had talked a lot of politics that year. Roberts, a staunch Republican, noticed how passionate her daughter was about Obama leading up to the election; Brandt had never been politically inclined before. So they struck a deal. Brandt agreed to vote for a candidate her mother favored in a local race, and in turn, Roberts agreed to give Obama her vote.
Brandt took Roberts in to vote early, as is legal in Texas.
Though gravely ill, Roberts knew Obama won the Nov. 4 election. She died six days later.
Feeling the loss of her own mother and believing that the president's mother was close to his heart, Brandt wanted to make sure he had a chance to see the article about his mother's time in Texas and her friends' memories of her. So she laminated a copy and sent it to the White House.
In her letter, she told him about her own mother.
She didn't really expect to hear anything further.
Then the envelope arrived Aug. 8.
"My husband told me it was there," Brandt said. She's glad she gave the envelope a second glance. Brandt is the general manager of a Wichita Falls motel, and she was so proud of the letter, she slipped the envelope in her purse and took it with her to show her colleagues.
"It was just exciting," she said. Obama's note of thanks shows her he appreciated her effort, and she appreciates the time that went into sending a letter back. "At that point in time, he was thinking about my letter," she said.
(Jessica Langdon is a reporter for the Wichita Falls Times Record News in Texas
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