They share the bond of a grandfather and granddaughter , but in the 18 years they have known each other , have never actually met . Until now . When she was 11-years-old , New York girl Nicole - who asked that her surname not be published - was given a school assignment to write to a pen pal , with an ad placed in different newspapers calling for people in other states interested in corresponding with the students . Norman Fikes , a writer from Bastrop , Texas , came across the ad and responded , subsequently beginning an exchange that would - and continues to - last a lifetime . That was 1996 , and Norman - then 61 - and his wife , Bobbie , started to eagerly await letters from their young pen pal , Nicole , KVUE TV reported . Finally : Nicole and Norman have been writing to each other for the last 18 years , but have only just met each other in the flesh in Batrop , Texas . First meal : The two decided to meet for dinner and share their first meal together . Both were in tears . Both would send photos in their letters and celebrate birthdays and holidays with each other from afar . One year Norman playfully told Nicole he wanted either a Cadillac or Rolls Royce for his birthday . Nicole then sent a toy car of each make . The couple witnessed Nicole grow up through her letters , and Norman has kept all of them , even a poem Nicole wrote for him when she was young . However , much to his dismay , Norman , now almost 80 , was forced to stop writing back to Nicole recently , as his Parkinson 's Disease worsens and his hands are too shaky to put pen to paper . Unwilling to be cut off from her surrogate grandparents , Nicole traveled the 1,600 miles from New York to Bastrop , to finally meet them . A reunion of sorts : Norman Fikes and his wife Bobbie ( together ) finally got to meet Nicole ( center left ) and her family , after Nicole traveled from New York to meet with the couple . Norman sat anxiously in the restaurant where they planned to meet . ' I 'm so excited . I 'm nervous , ' he told KVUE TV . Then Nicole , now a 29-year-old woman , finally arrived . She ran in with tears streaming down her face and her arms outstretched . 'We made it , ' she said . 'How are you ? Can you believe it ? ' Norman was crying just as much . ' I 've never had anybody go to this much trouble to see me before , ' he said . Celebration : Together with their families , Nicole and Norman ( back left ) have now finally met . Once the tears stopped , the two shared their first proper conversation and meal . They have now agreed to speak over text , with Bobbie helping her husband type and read the messages . Nicole acknowledged that , with technology the way it is now , other children wo n't get to have an experience like she did . 'The connections you make are way more important than anything you 're going to learn in a book , ' she said .
Nicole , 11 , of New York , started writing to Norman , 61 , of Texas , in 1996 . It was a class assignment to correspond with a pen pal , but they kept going . Norman , now two , has Parkinson 's Disease and can no longer write . Nicole decided to travel the 1,600 miles to finally meet him .