Message in a Bottle

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A long, long time ago, messages were sent floating across the restless seas, in hopes that it would reach someone in a distant land -- a voyage of dreams buoyed by the substance that gives us all life. Now, these messages-in-a-bottle are viewed with fond nostalgia, or occasionally as an ultra-romantic, but frivolous gesture. Connected by planes, trains, and most speedily and overarchingly, the Internet, we no longer need these glass messengers, but I like to think that their essence still exists, merely in a different guise. The spirit of these hope-bottles lies in the Internet today -- in social networking sites, in personal ads, in youtube videos -- people reaching out to other people far, far away, for acceptance and understanding and sometimes for help, all the while hoping for the warm response of another human heart.