. >> reporter: grading teacher judy jenkins came up with the idea. >> wouldn't it be cool to have a bondld? >> that's exactly what happened for joanne barron, who lives at brookgrove retirement village and craves the human contact missing in the pandemic. >> if you can't communicate, it's an isolation factor and it's very lonesome. >> thank you for the last letter. >> her penpal has become her friend. >> what i like about having the penpal, i can learn new things about her. >> reporter: new friendships learned the old fashion way, by handwritten words. words are power, words can heal, words can influence, words can inspire. >> and they can brighten the world of penpals of any age. >> the lost art of writing letters. the cbs overnight news will be back in two minutes. >>> and that's the "overnight news," for the tuesday, for some of you the news continues and for others check back later for cbs this morning and follow us online at any time at cbs news.com. reporting from the nation's capitol, i'm chip reid. . ♪ >>> it's tuesday, march 9th, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." post-pandem

. >> reporter: writing teacher judy jenkins came up with the idea. >> wouldn't it be cool to have a bondd? >> reporter: that's exactly what happened for joann baron who lives at brook g pandemic. >> if you can't communicate, it is an isolation factor, and it's very lonesome. >> thank youer for the last letter. >> reporter: her penpal, a 9-year-old, has become her friend. >> having a penpal, i can learn new things about her. >> reporter: new friendships formed the old-fashioned way -- by handwritten words. >> words are power. words can heal. words can influence. words can inspire. >> reporter: and they can brighten the world of penpals of any age. chip reid, cbs news, silver spring, maryland. >>> coming up on "cbs this morning," a look at so-called vaccine passports which could decide who's allowed to travel or stay at a hotel. >>> plus, jamie dimon, ceo of jpmorgan chase, tells us about a new initiative to help minority business owners. >>> and we speak with golden globe award-winning actor daniel kaluuya and director shaka king about their new movie "judas and the black messiah." >>> th

. >> reporter: writing teacher judy jenkins came up with the idea. >> wouldn't it be cool to have a bondrly person and a child? >> reporter: that's exactly what happened for joanne barron, who lives at brook grove retirement village and craves the human contact missing during the pandemic. >> if you can't communicate, it is an isolation factor, and it's very lonesome. >> "thank you for the last letter." >> reporter: her pen pal, nine- year-old teggy igbe, has become her friend. >> what i like about having a pen pal is i can learn new things about her. >> reporter: new friendships formed the old-fashioned way: by handwritten words. >> words are power. words can heal. words can influence. words can inspire. >> reporter: and they can brighten the world of pen pals of any age. chip reid, cbs news, silver chip reid, cbs news, silver spring, maryland. >> o'donnell: what a terrific idea. and look how good their handwriting is. we'll be right back. abilities. play your cards right, and you could be in for a tasty discount. [ clicks pen] let's roll. hey, check it out. one time i tripped on the si

. >> sally jenkins of "the washington post," thank you very much. >> my pleasure. judywe continue our look at the alcami of health and art with jeffrey brown's profile of a physician poet or poet physician as part of our arts and culture series, canvas. >> morning rounds at baylor st. luke's medical center in houston where dr. fady joudah practices internal medicine. in a time of pandemic, the hospital itself is eerily quiet. doctors and nurses likely to be the only people a patient sees. >> it's a little cruel. there's almost a panic, if you fall ill these days, because you feel you're sentenced to solitary confinement, whether from covid or not. that really is painful to carry around as a physician and internalize. >> joudah was born in austin but spent most of his life in the middle east as a child. the impulse from healing he says stems from a sense of displacement. >> as a young boy i remember feeling i needed to be a doctor because the world or my immediate family needed compassion and support. i remember this moment very well, actually, in the kitchen we were liv