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Cross-country pen
pals meet after 20 years

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By Rosemarie Bernardo
Star-Bulletin

For most newlyweds, honeymoons are spent solely with each other.

But for Jeff Smookler, four's not a crowd.

Since New Yorker Smookler was 9 years old, he has exchanged letters with Christy Okimoto of Honolulu. They wrote regularly, traded pictures of their respective homes and even exchanged gifts.

After 20 years of correspondence, Smookler thought it would be fun to finally meet his pen pal in person.

So Smookler and his wife, Dawn, will end their Kauai honeymoon by meeting Okimoto and her fiance tonight in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa in Kauai.

"We're really excited," said Smookler, who married Dawn King on Sept. 10 in Long Island, N.Y. Okimoto could not be reached for comment about the anticipated meeting.

True, when the couple started dating five years ago, the now-Mrs. Smookler did wonder about this exotic pen pal from Hawaii. But her jealous streak subsided.

"He always stressed that it's strictly a friendship," said Dawn, 26, an underwriter for the Prudential real estate organization.

Though they've never met face to face, Smookler, a project manager for NYCE Corp., considers Okimoto one of his best friends. "She's a very sweet and caring person," he said.

The Smooklers, Okimoto and her fiance, Karl Ishigaki, plan to have dinner Saturday evening and may spend some time on the golf course during the weekend, Dawn said.