A woman in New York City has re-reunited with a long-lost friend she hasn’t seen or spoken to in three decades.
According to a local outlet, the woman, identified as Jennifer Calcano, reconnected with her long-lost friend through an old photo album and a social media post on the “Upper West Side Together” Facebook page last month.
“My name is Jennifer, and the young lady hugging me is named Kimberly,” the post reads. “I’ve been looking for her for years, just to show gratitude because if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have made it to school every day due to my mother’s illness, and she was such a nice, beautiful young woman. Does anyone know where I can locate her?”
According to the New York Post, the photo album reveals a picture of her and an older girl she knew while growing up in the 90s.
NYC woman finds long-lost friend with help of old photo and lucky Facebook post https://t.co/SzfzBpNNEP pic.twitter.com/NAu0hnp3YV
— New York Post (@nypost) March 22, 2024
The older girl, identified as Kimberly Mendez, was an essential part of Calcano’a’s life. She walked her to the now-closed St. Gregory’s Catholic School every day for two years.
According to the outlet, Calcano only knew Mendez’s first name and had a single photograph. She had contacted past teachers and put up other Facebook posts but to no avail.
Reports also state that the girls lived on West 90th Street, a few buildings apart, but lost contact in 1995 after Mendez had graduated from the school, which only ran until 8th grade.
However, in an interview with the New York Post, Calcano revealed it took only hours for her to find an answer.
“And then someone said, “I know who that is.” I want to ensure she’s comfortable giving out her information,” Calcano said. “So again – didn’t hold out hope, but Kim wrote me on Facebook and said, ‘You found me.’ I felt such joy. I started crying immediately because it’s such a nice feeling that someone remembers something small that you did but was impactful for them.”
NYC woman finds long-lost friend with help of old photo and lucky Facebook post https://t.co/vhNR7mAIN2 pic.twitter.com/2YBtmacyaC
— New York Post Metro (@nypmetro) March 22, 2024
As reported by the outlet, Calcano revealed that the pair spoke two weeks ago for the first time in nearly three decades and have also texted a few times with plans to meet up when the weather warms up.
“Our plan is to meet and go have a drink or, you know, catch up,” she said. “I’d love to have an updated photo of just her and I … I would be so happy to see her again.”