Indiana Man Gets Thank-you Note From Himalyan Glacier

(AoftheAP)All Ray Klydehooper wanted to do was take part in preserving the environment. The Muncie, IN electrician never expected the environment to tell him "Thank you".

But that's exactly what happened. Tucked between his energy bill and his wife's Oprah magazine in yesterday's mail was a small letter postmarked from India, with the return address "Siachen Glacier".

"I don't know anyone in India," Ray told AoftheAP, "and I'm not even sure where it is. So I was curious. When I opened it and read the note, I was really surprised, let me tell you."

Here's the contents of the letter:

"Dear Ray -

Just wanted to say "thanks!" for your recycling efforts. Your commitment to environmental responsibility has saved me. I've stopped receding and I'm growing in mass again, all because of you. Thanks again!

Sincerely,

Siachen Glacier

p.s. - If you're ever in India, let's hook up for some Tandoori chicken and naan, okay?"

Three months ago, Ray started returning his plastic grocery bags to the local supermarket, stuffing them into the recycle barrel located at the entrance. He didn't know how much of a difference that little act was making, until receiving the thank you note.

"It just goes to show that every little bit counts," he said. "I'm just glad I was able to do my part and save one of the world's largest glaciers from extinction."

The Siachen Glacier felt that saying thanks was the right thing to do.

"Ray made the tough choice to save the planet," it said. "He's made sacrifices, and they paid off. I just felt it was important to let him know that his sacrifices mattered. If it weren't for him, I'd melt away completely."

This isn't the first time the environment has responded to individual's efforts.

• In 2007, Florence McNuthington-Smythe of Upper East Over-Under in Essex received a fruit basket from the Guatemalan rain forest, in gratitude for saving it from destruction after she switched her incandescent light bulbs to CFL's.
  
• In 2008, Chuck Flambeaux received Whole Foods Market gift certificates from the ozone layer, for having installed solar panels on his house.
  
• And just last month, three polar bears arranged to have a twenty pound case of free-range salmon fillets delivered to Phil Higgles of Modesto CA, who bought the first Chevy Volt, for singlehandedly stopping the Arctic ice depletion.

Not all correspondence has been positive, however. Back in 2009, blogger Matthew Archbold from Philadelphia received a postcard from the Great Barrier Reef that simply read "Thanks for nothing - we're disappearing, and it's your fault. Jerkwad."

So what will Ray do with the thank-you note?

"I'm going to frame it and hang it on the wall," he said. "The envelope's going in the paper recycle tray at the shop, of course. That way I might prevent a hurricane."

And his advice for others?

"Just do something. You'll feel better for it, and you might avert a huge environmental catastrophe. Even if you don't get a thank-you note, just keep telling yourself you're saving the world."