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A message in a bottle from a distant shore.
Have you ever been tempted to write a message, seal it in a bottle and send it off in the ocean, curious what would happen next? If so, you will especially enjoy today's story.
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As an Irish couple, Ciaran Marron and Rita Simmonds walked along an Irish beach, in the sand they spotted a bottle. In that bottle they discovered a message and money.
They knew an adventure had begun.
The bottle contained two single U.S. dollar bills and a handwritten letter from an 11-year-old boy, hoping to hear from whoever found this bottle.
That boy was Sasha Yonyak, of Ocean City, Maryland. He and his neighbor, 62-year-old Wayne Smith often went fishing together, Wayne being like a grandfather to Sasha.
In 2019, they found this bottle floating in the ocean. It had a message from two American women, who they were unable to locate.
But the bottle's message said to "pass it on," and they did, with Sasha's letter.
When the Irish couple found the bottle in 2022, it had floated 3,200 miles, surviving turbulent seas until finally settling in the sand.
In the meantime, Wayne passed away last year at age 64.
After finding the bottle, the Irish couple called the phone number in Sasha's letter only to receive a disconnect for that number had belonged to Wayne.
But through the local newspaper, they located Sasha and his family and a new friendship formed.
The families regularly communicate, and the Yonyak family plans to visit Ireland to meet their new friends, starting on the sand where the bottle was found.
That bottle also reconnected Sasha with his close friend Wayne and that wonderful long-ago day they happily sent that bottle off to shores unknown.
Editor's Note: To learn more: washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/01/24/ocean-city-message-bottle-ireland/.
In the next KazanToday: A hospital custodian who influenced her daughter to become a doctor.
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