That's awesome! When I was in my early teens I went through a similar stint and also emailed him with my thoughts, kudos and thanks. Also to my surprise he wrote back with a genuine message and note.
Yeah, he was one of the first "heroes" I've ever reached out to; I thought it was pretty awesome that he was willing to chat with his fans, and never got to a point of feeling "too good" to do something like that.
Since then, I pretty much email everyone on the internet that I have any respect for; I don't know how annoying I am because of that but I think we can thank Randi for giving me the courage to do so.
What a guy.