If it was a movie, it would be based on a book by Nicolas Sparks or Cecelia Ahern. If it was a movie, we'd roll our eyes. How saccharine. How unbelievable, we'd say. But the best part about how a message in a ginger ale bottle found its way home after sailing the high seas for a dozen years is that it's absolutely true.
What makes the story even more poignant is that the bottle's sender was none other than Sidonie Fery, a 10-year-old girl who would later die in a cliff accident in Switzerland.
Little did she know that the bottle would rock up amidst the seaside debris from hurricane Sandy, about 95kms east of Manhattan.
“I was just sobbing when I heard they had found it,” said her grieving mother Mimi Fery, who could not believe workers found and returned the bottle. Another happy ending to come out of an unspeakable disaster.
And the fateful message was not Shakespeare but no less poetic, taken from Sidonie's favourite film, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure:
“Be excellent to yourself, dude. It makes so much sense,” which Fery interpreted as Sidonie telling her mother not to worry about her.
According to the article in the Globe and Mail, Sidonie was described as a "vivacious young woman ... with an independent streak." She had been studying in Europe when she died tragically at the age of 18.
But fate has a funny/stubborn way of getting its point across, and so parks workers in charge of the post-Sandy cleanup managed to trace Fery since Sidonie included in the note a New York City phone number.
Fery later arranged to meet the workers, in order to claim her miraculous memento. A memorial plaque to the girl will be placed on site to mark the find.
“[Fery] was crying," recalls one of the workers, Brian Waldron, "everybody was crying.”
No doubt. It makes so much sense...
Have you seen the interview with Dustin Hoffman that has been making the rounds on social media lately?
Dorel Distribution Canada and Transport Canada have noted non-compliance in crash testing of various car seats, in which the the shell cracked when in a rear-facing position.
Such cracking could result in the seat back exceeding the permitted angle of recline during a crash, increasing the amount of impact. The following models are affected:
In the Enspira 65 model, such cracking could expose sharp edges, which in turn could pose an injury to a child or caregiver.
Dorel Distribution Canada will notify all registered owners of the above seats, providing instructions on how to obtain a free shell repair kit. For further information, customers should Dorel’s dedicated Toll free Customer Service Hotline at 1-(877)-416-9335, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST or email or Fax 1-800-207-8182 to obtain their free shell repair kit.
Customers affected by the recall are strongly advised to obtain the repair kit as soon as possible, in order to ensure compliance and safety in the event of a collision.
From February 2nd, 2012 to November 8th, 2012, 26,558 car seats were sold in Canada.
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