Lost postcard reunites two friends after 24 years

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   >>> long before texting and facebook there was something like this called a postcard. just a couple of words, stories from vacations, notes from penpals and sometimes a miracle of sorts. today's national correspondent amy roback -- ros is bach is here to explain.

   >> reporter: a postcard has connected three women spanning distance and time. we will reunite two long lost friends who haven't seen each other in 24 yearses. first, their story.

   >> i went to my mailbox just like any other day. there was a pile this big so i'm going through the junk mail , throwing things out and i saw this postcard. my dear friend, the thought of you inspired me to write. how are you getting along? the countryside looks like spring. the hillsides have a blanket of green glass dotted with flowers. beautiful. i guess i'm a simple country girl at heart. life is a romantic adventure. remember, romance is everywhere. love you, rose.

   >> reporter: this postcard wasn't meant for joanna .

   >> the postcard wasn't for me. it was for another reyez.

   >> reporter: in fact it wasn't meant for this day and age. the postmark, march 17, 1987 . it was lost in the mail for 24 years.

   >> i knew there was something special about it. i could tell there was a friendship here, maybe a deep friendship. rose is reaching out to her friend. it made me want to know more.

   >> reporter: it made us want to find out more, too.

   >> are you rose?

   >> yes, i am! you found me.

   >> reporter: we have been looking for you. we are in livingston, california . is this where you have lived your whole life?

   >> i was raised in this town.

   >> reporter: rose wrote the postcard to caroline who moved to new york city .

   >> carol was my best friend . we did everything together. she was my support system. she was like a sister to me.

   >> reporter: rose's friend caroline followed a boyfriend to new york , only to be left heartbroken. she wrote rose for advice. her reply bu pply was the postcard hoping to entice her back home.

   >> you thought she didn't write back?

   >> that's correct. i thought she made a decision, which was okay with me. i felt, well, caroline knows what's best for her. i never heard from her.

   >> reporter: where did you think caroline had been all these years?

   >> i thought she was still in new york .

   >> reporter: we found caroline . she wasn't in new york .

   >> hi!

   >> reporter: nice to meet you. what are you doing here?

   >> i live here now.

   >> reporter: here in san diego ?

   >> yes.

   >> reporter: ten years ago caroline moved back to her home state, always wondering what happened to her friend rose who she thought had never written her back.

   >> i thought if i had received a card i may have been swayed to come back to california because i was feeling lost. everything would have been different.

   >> reporter: different because caroline stayed in new york long enough to meet her husband there. over the years have you thought of rose?

   >> oh, yes, of course. always a special place in my heart for her.

   >> reporter: rose wrote that life is a romantic adventure. would you agree?

   >> it is. it can be. it's all in how you look at it. life throws you curves.

   >> reporter: through the years, both friends would be thrown curves. rose, a divorce, and caroline , breast cancer .

   >> during times that i went through hard times and i did go through hard times , i would long for that friendship.

   >> no one could have orchestrated this. none of us could have. the message -- it's like a message in a bottle .

   >> we think there is something in the universe that brought three of us together, for whatever reason. there are times -- i don't care what the reason is. we're together. excuse me.

   >> reporter: it's been a long time.

   >> i love caroline . she's speciale to me.

   >> reporter: we have a comment from the u.s. postal service . the postal service is pleased to have played a small part in these two friends getting together again. it shows the power of the postage stamp . good thing it wasn't an e-mail. back to you, matt.

   >> joanna reyez who didn't throw the card away is with us now.

   >> thank you, matt.

   >> i think a lot of people would have thrown it in the trash. you didn't.

   >> i didn't. there was something special about it. just the way rose expressed this love for life. she was inspiring. it just sat with me. it still sits with me today. you can tell that they were two dear friends . it's sweet.

   >> you have not met rose or caroline . you have spoken on the phone. for your own satisfaction you must want to watch the reunion.

   >> i'm very excited.

   >> let's bring out rose to meet joanna , the young lady who didn't throw the card away. good morning.

   >> how are you?

   >> nice to see you.

   >> this is joanna .

   >> this is so special. this really is.

   >> she was crying during the piece. you're crying during the piece. wait until we have the reunion. then you can cry.

   >> o boy.

   >> are you nervous? you have thought about this person for a long time. have you wondered what she looks like today, what's going on in her life?

   >> of course. 25 years almost have passed. i have curiosities about her. i'm very excited to see her.

   >> are you worried that it would be hard to pick up a friendship where it left off and reach the same level of closeness?

   >> no. i think we're going to pick right up and keep on going.

   >> let's see.

   >> okay.

   >> rose, sit there for a second and let me reintroduce caroline reyez. after 24 years.

   >> hi!

   >> oh, my goodness.

   >> it's nice to meet you. this is joanna .

   >> oh, thank you so much.

   >> wow.

   >> this is amazing.

   >> okay. who's changed the most? does she look the way you thought she'd look?

   >> she looks beautiful in red.

   >> so do you.

   >> she looks the way you thought she would look?

   >> of course. always beautiful. always beautiful.

   >> what are your hopes? i should have brought the kleenex box. what are your hopes for the friendship now? from this moment on?

   >> we will continue. see each other. hopefully she'll come to san diego to see me. we have lots to do. i'll have to coax her. she's a country girl . she's a country girl .

   >> that, i am.

   >> rose, what are your hopes?

   >> i hope that we will always continue like we were at one time in our lives when we were very close. i think that can happen. i think that we can still be close.

   >> are you all three the type of people who believe everything happens for a reason?

   >> oh, yes.

   >> yes.

   >> if you have to think, why now, why do you think this postcard showed up at joanna 's apartment now after 24 years?

   >> it was also meant for her. i believe it. it was meant for her.

   >> i think we all believe that. it came at a time when i needed it the most. i'm so honored and grateful.

   >> explain why you needed it the most.

   >> oh, a year of, you know, being single again and just moving forward with my life. i think you get in a rut a little bit. you need something to lift you out of it and the words here truly did. it's been a remarkable two months for me. thank you.

   >> thank you.

   >> rose, you are a beautiful writer. you really are.

   >> oh, thank you.

   >> next time, pick up the phone . a lot of people in the studio have said, they didn't -- nobody got the postcard and they didn't pick up the phone .

   >> right. well, you know what? i was in a crisis. i just moved on. so, you know, life just happens. i also think if i would have gotten the card i may have been coaxed to come back home to california .

   >> life would have been different.

   >> i would not have met my husband. i would not have had the career i had. i would not have had the new friends. so, you know, everything does happen for a reason. i believe the universe was planning this whole thing.

   >> i think you're right. maybe there is as much to learn from the absence as there is from the reunion.

   >> absolutely. our friendship is timeless.

   >> i feel that way.

   >> stay together. stay in touch. keep joanna in the loop as well.

   >> i love it. it's fantastic.

   >> thanks for not throwing away the postcard. thank you for letting us reunite you on

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