A second bottle was found! Let’s hope it’s not the last. And let’s hope I didn’t just jinx anything by even mentioning it. Although I really can’t complain. 2 out of 5 ain’t bad. In fact, it sounds like that might be some sort of impressive fraction. Not that I’m any statistician. I do eat meat after all. (there’s a longer story to that, but I won’t bore you… Ted)

At any rate, another bottle was found! By some absolutely great folks. Here’s an except from the email I received from Donna Marx:
“My husband found it on the south end of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Preserve in Broad Channel. I am giving him your phone number to him as he is asking me a million questions, how many bottles, what locations, etc., and you probably have a few for him too. I am also going to post a picture of it on my facebook page if you don’t mind.

We didn’t open the bottle yet. I gave it to our 7 year old son, who is totally enthralled with it. Made a little book and wants to bring it into his class to do a show and tell about it.”

And then Her husband Steve called. He was great. He found the bottle on the southern end of the bird sanctuary in Jamaica Bay. Steve is out in the bay quite a bit and keeps a boat at a friend’s place in Broad Channel. He had a lot of knowledge about the area and it’s history. May have to pick his brain again at some point.

I think the best part is the kid. How cool would it be to get your hands on something like that as a kid?

Donna wrote back and let me know that they opened the bottle with some other kids and adults from the neighborhood over the Fourth of July weekend. I can only imagine that the ceremony was conducted with pomp and circumstance. Horse drawn carriages, solemn oaths, that sort of thing. And fireworks of course.

The drawing they found inside was the Sooty Shearwater. Which is what I expected as it was heading in that general direction from where it was tossed. But landing at the bird sanctuary is a really fitting. First the scientists, now this. I will settle for nothing less than the third one to be swallowed whole by a pelican, and deposited wet and glossy at the grave of Thor Heyerdahl.

I really do hope more of these get found. An interesting portrait of who accesses the water could emerge.