Hey, How Did that Get There?

As appeared in the Albuquerque Journal Rio Rancho section Saturday, August 28, 2010

You know they say when you die, you are taken to a room. And in that room is a huge pile of everything you have ever lost in your life: money, jewelry, car keys, pets, socks, computer files, and definitely a few pairs of very cool, very expensive sunglasses.

When you lose things, if you're lucky enough to find them, they always turn up in the most unusual places.

Did you hear about that mysterious boat that was found on Madeira Beach, Fla.? Local residents were amazed when the 48-foot yacht, unmanned with the motor running, washed ashore last Wednesday just south of Clearwater.

Adding to the mystery is the fact that the vessel is registered to the federal government, according to CNN. Given this information, I wouldn't necessarily say it was lost, but a boat turning up without a captain, with the lights glaring and motor running is something more than your typical find at a beach — much more interesting than sea glass, that's for sure.

Speaking of discovering things, finding messages in bottles is fascinating and more common than you might think.

One bottle sailed the ocean currents for eight years, traveling thousands of miles from Port Everglades, Fla., across the Atlantic to Bordeaux, France, where a Frenchman found a note dropped into the ocean 23 years earlier by a young girl at summer camp.

Another bottle was filled with letters written by a grieving family to their son, a casualty of the war in Afghanistan. On vacation in Barbados, the family sipped sambuca in their son's honor, then filled the empty bottle with goodbye notes and tossed it into the water. The bottle was found off the Mississippi coast by a Gulf oil spill cleanup crew some 1,300 miles away.

Sometimes things are just as special, but lost much closer to home.

We have a new kitten in the house and last week at about 8 o'clock on Tuesday night, she was nowhere to be found. After I convinced myself there was no way she could have escaped out the front door when I went outside to water the roses, we tore the house apart looking for our lost kitty. My daughters and I thought for sure we would find her cuddled amongst the socks in her usual dresser drawer, but no such luck.

With the stress level approaching nuclear meltdown, the only thing to do was the obvious: make popcorn. I opened the cupboard to get a bowl and there was the kitten curled up in the colander, fast asleep. Seems she must have gotten inside when I was making the salad for dinner. A collective sigh of relief swept through the house, to say the least.

The next time you lose something, just remember to cross your fingers, hold your breath and say the magic words: St. Anthony, St. Anthony, please come around. Something has been lost and cannot be found.

Quote of the Week: "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most." — Mark Twain