From the Gulf Coast to Wales: A Message in a Bottle Brings Hope and Healing

Sunday, August 8, 2010

A gulf oil cleanup crew emotionally reaches out to a Welsh mother mourning the loss of her son in Afghanistan.

___This heartwarming tale began last Christmas when Sarah Adams and her family traveled to Barbados from their home in Wales. Adams' son, British Army Pvt. James Prosser, had died in Afghanistan that September and the clan couldn't bear to spend the holiday at home, achingly mourning his absence on what used to be a joyful holiday.

While in the Barbados, Adams her crew (including her daughter and son and the daughter's boyfriend) decided to channel their grief into letters, each writing James a deeply personal, heartfelt note. When they were done, they stuffed the notes into a Sambuca bottle (James' drink of choice) and emotionally flung the bottle into the sea, not really expecting to ever see it again.

But on July 15th, that bottle unexpectedly reappeared in a most unexpected spot, Mississippi, and was discovered by a crew cleaning up the BP oil spill. A team working for Progressive Pipe Management found the bottle and discovered the letters inside, dry but slightly illegible. They were immediately moved by their contents.

“It’s taken everybody by heart. It’s amazing how we’re thousands of miles away but how we’re drawn so close by something we’re all affected by," crew chief Doug Kirchoff told the South Wales Argus newspaper . . ."


read more: http://www.tonic.com/article/from-wales-to-the-gulf-coast-to-afghanistan-a-message-in-a-bottle-brings-hope-and-healing/