There is a popular movie out now with the same name
as this column, but I claim no connection. I’m not sure that Kevin Costner
has even been to Lake Superior, however I encourage him to visit.
This column is about something I found as we first stepped onto our beach
on Lake Superior after a winter of late snow and little ice. There are
always surprises waiting on the beach. In the past I’ve mentioned the agates
we find, the new logs that have washed up and the old friends (trees) that
may have disappeared during the winter months. This time, among the items
that we collected off the beach, I found a small (plastic) soft drink bottle.
No top on it, but lo and behold, inside was a piece of lined paper, obviously
torn from a small notebook. There was no top on the bottle, but the paper
was dry. And imagine my surprise when it actually contained writing. Yes,
it was a message in a bottle.
I share it with you because it was a message, and messages from afar should
be shared. I really don’t know when the message was written. It’s hard
to gauge the age of the writer from the handwriting. And there is no clue
as to where she lives. But maybe you’ll remember a moment when you loved
Lake Superior as much as Christa.
Sunrise
As the sun arises from the earth,
birds call,
As the waves splash against the rock’s edge, making me
back away a little farther,
As the sun glistens to the water’s surface
then onto my face,
As the magnificent waterfall speaks sadly,
not letting me cross,
As the fresh aroma of the new day
runs up my senses,
The sun keeps rising ’til it
gets to its destination,
And here I sit,
watching this gift from Mother Nature.
Christa Heilman
So there. Picture yourself there on that Lake Superior beach, watching
the sun rise, experiencing those same feelings. Christa captured her thoughts
on paper and, wanting to share, tossed the message into the Inland Sea.
The sea kept it safe and delivered it to us. Thanks, Christa. Thanks, Lake
Superior.
Paul L. Hayden
Editor
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Message in a Bottle