On my desk is a real Message In a Bottle. Sealed tight, it has been sitting here for nearly 2 years, since shortly after a Willamette River flood event deposited it on one of our organic pumpkin fields. A true curiosity, it is not uncommon for people to stop and ask “Is this for real?” Once they hear that, yes, this is a real message in a bottle, the distant gaze almost always sets in. Sometimes it’s just a flicker, but I can tell imagination has taken grip. What does the message say? Who wrote it? When and where and most importantly….Why?? I have some clues as to the “when” based on the type of lined stationery and the manufacturer mark on the bottom of the glass. I think I even know the “where” since some of the words rolled up in the scroll can be peaked at if you turn the bottle just so (hmmm. I see the name of a town–is it the origin or the wished-for destination of the message?)

Keeping it sealed baffles my kids. Open the thing, Mom. Come on! So far no one has taken it upon themselves to remove the cap, have a peak, and try to replace the cap… (think: unwrap and rewrap the found Christmas presents. I was never one of those kids….) The rusty crust on the cap remains intact. Maybe opting to keep it sealed is a wicked impulse to drive others crazy with curiosity. Feels more like pleasant anticipation to me. I myself enjoy the pent up mystery, so the unanswered questions do not trouble me.

Still, I’m not saying I won’t open it someday.