Reminder: Don’t forget about the current contest running here at ritewhileucan. Open until May 31st. You may want to take a peek at the details.
I have been thinking, wishing for, the beach lately. There is something about being in close proximity to an ocean. It is different from being beside a lake or a river. Perhaps it is the vastness of it all. Where blue meets blue. Whatever the reason there is something almost mythical about the ocean. Maybe that is why, over the ages, people have been captivated by it.
Kids and adults alike love to picnic beside the ocean, swim in it (if it isn’t too cold), surf, sail, collect shells on the shore, just listen to it or perhaps invite the ocean to assist you in sending a letter in a bottle.
Just last month, April 2013, a Canadian man’s message in a bottle was found in Croatia. It only took 28 years to get there! Can you imagine? The letter was addressed to a woman by the name of Mary. It is a short note yet one that leaves room for much speculation. Why did Jonathon, the author of the letter, choose the bottle as his mode of transportation? What was the nature of their relationship? Much intrigue indeed.
Who can you relate with more? The gentleman who took the time to pen the letter and find a bottle, seal it and toss it afloat? Or perhaps the person who found it, in this case a woman by the name of Matea Rezik, a kite surfer? I can’t decide. I love the idea of sending a note out there; not really expecting someone to find it. But certainly hoping. You could really say anything you wanted. Therapy of a sort. Closure. Saying good-bye. Or hello. Throw a bit of romance in and you’ve got me. Hook line and sinker
On the other side of the ocean, you may be going about your daily life, walking leisurely along the shore or building a sand castle and you see this bottle bobbing in the water. As you get closer you see that it isn’t quite the same as all the other rubbish needing to be disposed of. No, this is a treasure. The beginning of a story.
Either way, we the curious on-lookers, always love to see what was written. It fascinates us. The sheer miraculous fact that the bottle did in fact reach someone; that the letter was legible and not water soaked after 28 years. Amazing.
I think that a letter in a bottle really is all about hope. Having faith that someone is out there. Belief that your letter in a bottle will be found. Hope that someone will answer. As Sting sings “I hope someone gets my message in a bottle.”
P.S After using these tips on making a letter in a bottle I think that sending a letter in a bottle will be #13 on my list of “12 Things to try this summer”