Message in a bottle unveiled

From staff reports

On Friday, July 30 approximately 20 curious people gathered at the beach of Bay Rd. north of Glen Arbor to attend the unveiling of the message in a bottle found by Kathleen Dodge Buhler in the waves lapping the shoreline two weeks earlier.

With the Manitou Islands in the background, a pinkish sunset afterglow illuminating the sky and the same peaceful waters tickling the shore, a small table with light pink linen and embroidered tablecloth was chosen on which to place the corked aqua blue wine bottle with a secret message inside.

Before opening, all those attending were asked to write a message of their own which they thought might duplicate the message in the bottle. All messages were read aloud before the official unveiling. Then, a special surgical tool was used to reach far enough into the neck of the bottle so as not to tear the message or break the bottle. Everyone cheered when the note was successfully extracted.

Beth Bricker of Forest Gallery came closest and received a colorful gift certificate for a triple-dip Hudsonville ice cream cone from the Burdickville Market and a gift certificate for dinner at Crystal Mountain Resort, both of which were donated by attendees. John and Pamela Baad provided music by Sting (naturally, his song “Message in a Bottle”) on their iPod.

At long last, here’s what the note said:

“Greetings, I am close to Glen Arbor USA, enjoying the sunshine and waiting for the sunset. I am accompanied by my beautiful girlfriend, celebrating our one yr anniversary. … Peace & Love (anonymous)”

* An email address was also provided, and the writer asked the founder of the bottle (Buhler) to write to him and explain how and where the bottle was found, which she has since done.