Walking down the street, you encounter a folded piece of paper on the sidewalk. You pick it up and read it and immediately, your life has changed. Describe the experience.
Charles and Barbara, a married couple of sixty-five years, walk the beach every morning near their seaside home in Lincoln Oregon.
On a chilly spring morning, Charles notices a bottle buried in the sand. Barbara sees the bottle also and asks Charles to pick it up.
When Charles reached down to take the RC cola bottle out of the sand, he recognizes the clear bottle contained a faded white piece of paper. He tries but he cannot pull the cork out.
Barbara tells him; Wait until we return home, and we can read the note over coffee.
Charles agrees, and they continue their walk.
Over the years, Charles and Barbara have encountered many bottles with messages and some were love letters to significant others while others were letters written by people who just threw a bottle into the ocean.
They have written to some of the original owners and established a dialogue they have maintained ever since.
When they returned home, Barbara cooked breakfast, and Charles made coffee.
After they had eaten and began to enjoy their coffee, the doorbell rang, and their three adult children arrived yelling, Happy Anniversary mom and dad.
The children entered bringing with them apple pastries to celebrate their parents 67 years of marriage.
After the hugs had ended and they sat down to enjoy the coffee and pastries, Barbara, remembered the bottle they found earlier during their walk.
Their oldest son opens the sealed bottle and passes the note to his father who after putting on his glasses began to read.
April 17, 1952
Dear Barbara,
I have spent the worst winter assigned to a unit where over eighty percent of the men were lost in battle.
I was fortunate to survive, and I have been hospitalized for the past two months and every day, I thought of my love for you and dream of seeing you again.
We have been married less than a year, yet my love for you has grown stronger. My thoughts of our love helped me through the pain I suffered knowing I will one day touch, hug and kiss you.
I draw strength knowing our love will last for many years, and we will raise a family of beautiful children and in our golden years we will share and enjoy a love beyond all.
I have to return to duty after my wound heals, but my dreams of our love will help me survive knowing we will soon be together.
I love your Barbara with all of my heart.
Love
Charles.
Barbara begins to cry, as Charles pulls her close to hug her passionately. Their children begin to cry, and they all share a hug.
Suddenly, Barbara stops crying; You never told me you were injured during the war? So, you put this message in a bottle over sixty years ago, and it washes up on shore today of our anniversary?
I never told of the injury, but I wrote the note a couple of weeks ago to express how my love for you has never wavered since the day we were married.
Their oldest son, tells his mother; I placed the bottle on the beach this morning before you two went for a walk.
Barbara began to cry when Charles tells her, Happy 65th Anniversary honey.
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